Jumper
by bitchinblackframedglasses
Summary: Three years after Rebecca disappeared, she suddenly returns, bringing with her a friend that will change the lives of Sally, Aidan and Josh forever. Slight crossover with the movie Jumper, but not enough to warrant the tag. American Syfy Josh/OC eventually. Complete.
1. I'm a Jumper

_Jumper_

**Life goes on for Aidan, Josh and Sally after Rebecca leaves, unable to stand not feeding. About three years later, she returns with someone she really wants Aidan to meet. **

"_I'm a jumper."_

Even though I'm sitting perfectly still, the slight breeze in front of the hospital blows my scent around. The humans, of course, smell and suspect nothing. I'm just a young woman sitting on a park bench, watching the world go by. However, the one vampire I want to meet at this hospital has already smelled me from the inside and has just appeared on the front steps, his dark eyes scanning the area around the hospital until he finds me. His face surprisingly calm, Aidan makes his way over then stands in front of me, obviously unsure of what to say. "It's good to see you again," I start, and he flinches lightly at the sound of my voice. Last time he heard or saw me, I was raw and uncontrolled; a monster. The woman he sees today is the exact opposite. I was practically lounging on the bench, dressed in clean fresh clothes. My gaze didn't wander to different tasty people to kill. I looked human. "Here, have a seat." I offered, patting the spot next to me. Aidan slowly sat down; his dark hospital scrubs making him look paler than ever, especially in the bright sunlight.

"What happened to you, Rebecca?" He asked, eyes roaming over me, the confusion and awe written all over his face.

"I'll explain if you accept my apology first." I insisted, shifting so that I was facing him directly. "You were risking everything you'd worked for to try and help me, and I ran away."

"Never apologize to me for what _I _did." He said, still regretful of what he'd done. "Nothing was ever your fault." We looked at each other a moment, then away, as awkward as ever, right in that stage between friends and something more, even after all these years.

"I roamed around the United States, even spent some time in Canada and Mexico. But then I met someone who turned my life around. Not a guy," I added quickly, seeing the look on Aidan's face. "And not someone who is exactly _human_ either." I added in an undertone, gaining back Aidan's interest, and, as always, his caution.

"Who is this person?" He asked finally, and I bet he was picturing some sick female form of the Bishop.

"Come on, I'll show you." I said, standing up. Aidan hesitated, but then stood too, following me a short distance down the tiny road on the hospital's campus. We didn't go very far. Sitting just where I'd left her, my coach, my savior was waiting. Almost giggling at Aidan's surprise, I led us over to stand in front of her. To his perspective, we were sitting in front of a girl who looked no older than 18, maybe younger, who appeared to be like skipping out of school. Her general _averageness_ threw Aidan for a loop- he'd been expecting a vampire or other mythical creature. "Aidan, meet Emma." I said, and Emma stood up, holding out a hand for him to shake. He hesitated but then returned the gesture, trying to analyze her appearance and not stare. Emma certainly didn't look like much- she was really just a kid, petite and short. She had the same long sandy brown hair that every other teenage girl did, highlights included. She was dressed in the same usual attire- skinny jeans, Chuck Taylor's and a t-shirt.

"You don't have to look quite that scared," She said to Aidan, her voice cracking as she tried to hide her mirth. Unable to, she started to giggle until I rolled my eyes at her.

"Emma's a jumper. She helped me get over my addiction." I explained, but it only made Aidan more confused than ever.

"Let's walk," Emma suggested, picking up her backpack off the ground. The three of us set off down the trail, and once we started to get to a more secluded area, Emma launched into her usual speech, instantly losing her teenage girl attitude. "As Rebecca said, I'm a jumper. Here," she flicked one of her business cards out of thin air like she usually did, handing it up to Aidan, who took it, looking flabbergasted. "I help people like us, who aren't quite, well, normal, get over problems in their condition. The card says _trainer_, but that's kind of a cruel way of putting it. But I'd jumped into this printing shop at like four in the morning, and I didn't have a whole lot of time to print-" She saw the look I was giving her and cut off her awkward rant, smiling sheepishly.

"'Emma McCann, Trainer and Curer of Addictions'," Aidan read off the card, then looked at me. "Is this some sort of joke?"

"Of course not!" Emma answered, looking affronted. "I work mostly with vampires to help them wean off of feeding directly on humans, but I've worked with ghosts and a few werewolves here and there, a few other jumpers, _oooh,_ one time, there was this really creepy sand guy- sorry." She cut herself off again, seeing both my look and Aidan's, telling her to get to the point. "Shall we take this to a more private venture?" She said slyly, holding out both her hands. I took hers instantly, used to it by now, but Aidan balked.

"She's not as crazy once you get to know her. All jumpers are a little…enthusiastic." I said, and Emma huffed, but kept her hand outstretched. "Go on," I told Aidan, and after one more moment of hesitation, he took her hand.

"Going in three, two, one," Emma counted, as if this was a mission into space. I still couldn't feel the change, even though Emma had done this to me a million times. She was just too fast. One second, we were standing by the hospital. The next, we were in an alley halfway across town. It took her less than a blink of an eye. "See? I'm a jumper. I can move myself, other objects, and other people to new locations instantly. Cool, huh?" She said casually to Aidan, who was blinking and looking around him in shock. As vampires, we were pretty darn fast, but Emma was ten times faster. "That's how I help out vampires and werewolves. We find or build a spot that's completely enclosed; no way out. I jump them in there to transform or whatever, then jump in periodically for certain amounts of time until they get used to a human presence. Once they're in control, my work is done."

"You've never met a jumper, have you?" I asked Aidan, who was still speechless, and he shook his head. "See, I thought for sure you had; you were so in control the last time we met. I owed you a visit and Emma a favor, so I thought I'd have you two meet. Since you know this place real well, I assumed you'd know some people Emma could help."

"Wow, um," Aidan said finally, rubbing the back of his head, bemused, "I do know some people, yeah."

"I've heard that this Bishop guy around here is a real piece of work." Emma said, leaning against the alley wall, looking in almost a bored fashion at her fingernails. "I thought I'd give some of the people he's changed a new direction, if you didn't know anyone."

"That's not the best idea. The Bishop is extremely powerful." Aidan said instantly, but Emma shrugged, picking at a cuticle.

"It's not like I don't have any enemies. A few vampires in Cairo are still after me. Have you ever been to Cairo? For some reason, they like to build armies of vampires over there, its _super_ weird."

"Anyway," I said forcefully as Emma went to continue her story, "Could you stay in touch? Let her know when you find people?"

"Why don't you come over now? I live with a guy and a ghost you might be able to start with." Aidan said after we'd looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, something Emma didn't miss.

"Sure, where is this super-high-speed taxi taking us?" Emma asked, holding out her hands again. Aidan rattled off his address and no sooner had he finished speaking we were there, standing in front of his own front door.

"Come on in," Aidan muttered, unlocking his front door and holding it open for us. "_Hey, Josh? You home?" _He called, shutting the door behind us. His place hadn't changed at all since the last time I'd been here.

"No, he's not," said a female voice before she appeared, stepping through a wall. This must have been his ghost. She had tan skin, long dark hair, and a morose expression. "Who are these guys?" She continued, sounding bored, plopping down on the staircase.

"Well, I'm Emma," Emma said, and the ghost jumped about a foot and a half, obviously assuming like all ghosts did that Emma was human, and therefore, couldn't see or hear her.

"And this is Rebecca." Aidan finished, looking slightly amused, hands deep in his scrub pockets.

"Sally," the ghost introduced herself shakily, starting to grin.

"Emma's a jumper, and Rebecca's like me." Aidan explained, even though his words only confused Sally more. "Come on in," he insisted, pushing us into the living room, pulling out a chair for Sally.

"I can move myself, objects or other people from one place to another, instantly. I work with people like us to cure addictions and problems that come with the conditions they have." Emma continued, dropping her backpack and sitting on the couch.

"She got me off of killing humans for blood." I added, as an example, and Sally nodded starting to understand.

"Unfortunately, I can only hear ghosts, not see them, but you sound awesome." Emma added, looking _almost _directly at Sally, but not quite. Sally laughed.

"I thought she could help you and Josh." Aidan told her, and Sally looked at him in surprise.

"Me? I'm great, though." Sally said, looking back to Emma, even though she couldn't see her.

"I help ghosts unlock all their mystical, poltergeist-y powers. I couldn't help but notice how Aidan had to pull out that chair for you. I can teach you how to do that kind of stuff yourself." As Emma spoke, Aidan put her business card on the table so that Sally could read it.

"That sounds great!" Sally said, sounding a lot more cheerful and eager. As the two of them immediately got to work, Aidan caught my eye and jerked his head towards the kitchen. Emma and Sally didn't even notice us getting up; Sally was too busy focusing incredibly on putting her feet up on the coffee table.

"Can I get you anything?" He asked, opening their battered old fridge, peering inside and wincing a little. "I've got type A, positive and negative, I'm all out of AB, but-"

"Aidan." I interrupted, and he quickly closed the fridge, looking at me. "Can we…can we ever go back to the way things were?" I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. When Aidan only stared, I hurried on, "I made myself a promise; that I wasn't going to come back and see you until I was completely in control. I know it's been a long time, but-"

"YES!" Sally cheered from the next room, but we both ignored it. Two seconds later Aidan strode across the room and kissed me. Happiness exploded inside me, and I let him pick me up and set me on the sink, still kissing. I'd missed him so much, even when I was with the Bishop, furious with Aidan for turning me. "I can't believe I did it! That's so cool!" Sally exclaimed from the living room as Aidan's lips burned into mine.

"You can use that basic principle to move or touch anything now, even people. One time I met this ghost in Africa who was so good at it that he touched human's dreams while they were sleeping. Of course this guy was absolutely nuts, but-"

"Did he tell you how he did it?" Sally asked as Aidan moved to my throat, not daring to bite, even though he was getting aroused enough to use his fangs if he wanted to.

"Hey, guys, I'm home!" An unfamiliar voice called as the front door opened, but the stench that came with him let me know instantly it was the werewolf. Aidan and I hastily broke apart, and I flattened my hair from where he'd been running his fingers through it, trying to look calm and collected. "Who are you?" Josh asked sounding confused; he must have found Emma, a normal, human looking girl sitting in his living room.

"She's a jumper!" Aidan, Sally and I called at the same time. "Here," Aidan muttered, seizing two cups and two packets of blood from his fridge as Sally launched into an explanation in the living room. As we came back in, each with a cup in hand, avoiding each others gaze, Josh came into view. He looked just as confused as Aidan had been, and he was examining the business card Emma had given Aidan.

"Ignore the 'trainer' part, that was a really stupid idea to put on there, but I'd jumped into this printing shop and-" Emma was saying hastily, but I cut her off, having heard the story a million times.

"Just show him how you jump." I said, bored, sitting across from Aidan, afraid to sit next to him and possibly, oh, I don't know, start making out with him again?

"Ugh, fine. You people do not like any exposition in your plots, do you? I mean, _honestly._" Emma grumbled, getting to her feet and walking to one end of the living room. Faster than a blink of even a vampire eye, she was on the other end of the living room. The werewolf's reaction was _priceless._

"…What?" He asked stupidly, looking from one spot to the other.

"It's a jump! I go from one spot," she moved, "to another spot," she moved again, back to where she'd started, "instantly. Nifty, huh?" She grinned good naturedly at Josh, who just stared back in shock. Of course, Emma took this as a bad silence and awkwardly started to ramble like she usually did. "Well, it does have it's downsides, I mean, I have to eat like _mega protein_ and I have to eat like, _all the time_ cause I use so much energy jumping everywhere, cause, I mean, who walks slowly anywhere anyway? Well, excluding jumpers and vampires." She finished, and Josh just blinked.

"Maybe you should get back to the point," Aidan suggested quietly, sipping his blood, clearly amused with the whole thing.

"Oh, right. Ok, well, I could help you get used to being around people when you're a werewolf. I jump you into a secure place to change, someplace with no way out, and then I jump in occasionally for a certain amount of time until you don't want to…you know, maul me. Then I start bringing in other people that you want to get used to."

"No way," he croaked finally, over his shock and able to process what she was saying. "That is way too dangerous. How old are you anyway?" Josh asked, looking at her with slight suspicion. Emma crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows at the same time. This was her biggest pet peeve and potential clients' biggest turn off- she looked too normal, too young.

"I fail to see how that has anything-"

"She's twenty." I answered for her, and Emma glared at me.

"I am _not_ twenty. I'm twenty and a half, get it right."

"Shouldn't you be in school?" Sally asked, and Emma sighed, unfolding her arms. She hated sharing personal information with, well, anyone, but especially with clients.

"When I'm in a jump, I don't age. As a kid, you can't control your jumps. Even now, with all the jumping I do for a living, it's still hard to control. I should actually be about seventeen, with all the time taken out for jumps." She explained wearily. "It's hard to explain to your school principal why you vanished halfway through 'Recent American History' and ended up on the roof." When no one said anything, she continued. "So, _regardless_ of my age, I've helped werewolves and vampires and one creepy sand man guy before, I'm well trained. Do you want my help or not?" Josh looked at her, evidently torn. It was hard to believe that it would be safe for a little pipsqueak like Emma to train werewolves and vampires; I'd had trouble letting her help me too. But, once I had, I didn't regret it at all. Emma and I were best friends.

"Even if you don't want to decide now, she definitely has to stay. She's teaching me how to touch stuff on my own." Sally pointed out, keeping Josh from having to give a straight answer.

"Yeah, Josh, you should really think about it." Aidan said quietly, still sipping on his blood. Still torn, the werewolf looked into his lap, unable to look at anyone directly.

"Food for thought!" Emma said cheerfully, jumping to a standing position and stretching. "Hey, speaking of food, I'm _dying_ for, well, anything. I'll see you guys later, then?"

"Don't you guys want to stay for dinner?" Sally offered, something that I thought was funny; the ghost, someone that didn't even eat, offering us to stay for food.

"Nah, we have to give you guys time to have a possible argument about all of this, some hard feelings, and a bit of sulking time. I've been doing this a long time, I know how it is." She added, seeing Josh instantly start to flush.

"But when will you guys come back?" Sally asked, clearly worried about wanting to learn more, proudly putting her feet up on the coffee table.

"Just call, all the information's on the card." Emma said, jumping to stand next to me. After we'd said our goodbyes, and Aidan and I had eyed each other up for a moment longer, Emma jumped us away.


	2. No Pun Intended

_Jumper_

**Josh has a choice to make; Sally starts her lessons on a destructive note.**

_No Pun Intended_

"So you're telling me that Rebecca just, _poof_, came back and this…this kid was just with her?" Josh demanded, rubbing his forehead, sitting on the kitchen table. Aidan was leaning against the sink, calm and detached as always. We'd been over this the night before, but it was as if Josh had forgotten everything overnight and insisted that we go through it again this morning.

"Yes," Aidan said simply, as if the answer was obvious.

"But-but- how could that _kid_ have trained a bloodthirsty vampire? How could she have trained monsters like me?" Josh asked almost rhetorically, too blown away to think properly.

"Ok, despite how young she is, you can't deny she's frickin' sweet." I said, happily propping my feet up on the kitchen table, sitting in a chair that I'd pulled out _for myself._

"You're going to take her help, right?" Aidan asked, clearly meaning for Josh to say yes. When he hesitated yet, tugging anxiously on his hair I groaned.

"What? The last time someone was 'helping' me, it turned out to be a disaster." Josh snapped, clearly meaning Ray. "Look, humans and werewolves don't mix. End of story."

"Well, that's good, because she's not technically human." I snarked, and Aidan and I air high-fived under Josh's scowling face.

"You'll warm up to her. At least give her a chance to help Sally." Aidan said, acting as peacemaker, as always.

"Besides, you two are actually really alike." I said slyly, crossing my arms as Josh's mouth dropped open.

"What? No…_no, _we are not. We're not, Sally!" He defended quickly, leaping up off the table.

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that. You both ramble. Both of you look slightly clueless. Both of you _are_ slightly clueless…" I started listing off of my fingers as Josh got progressively more flushed, embarrassed. "Let's call her right now!" I said, getting up.

"No! No way!" Josh said, panicking over nothing.

"She's not coming for _you_, she's coming for Sally anyway." Aidan said, kicking open the fridge and digging out a blood packet.

"Hey, hey, watch this." I said gleefully, ignoring Josh's discomfort and going over to the phone. Biting my lip in concentration, I picked it up and turned it on. "What's the number again? Where's the card?" I asked, going over to where I'd stuck it to the fridge. Josh leapt up and snatched it off, holding it to his chest.

"I don't think this is a good idea. I mean-what-you don't know-" he rambled pointlessly until Aidan reached over and plucked it out of his hand, reading off the number in a calm voice.

"If you don't want to be around then leave." I said readily, dialing and putting the phone on speaker, making Josh flush further.

"_OW! _God fucking damn it- shit!" was the first thing we heard, a loud crash, and more sleepy sounding swear words. Then, "Hi, sorry, I hit my head and then dropped the phone, I'm kind of a klutz sometimes-"

"Shut up and answer the damn phone already!" We heard Rebecca call from somewhere off in the distance.

"Sorry, yes, hi, Emma McCann can I help you?" Emma got back on track, and I could almost hear her smiling sheepishly.

"Hi! It's Sally." I said proudly, and there was a pause.

"Did you call me all by yourself?" she asked, sounding amazed. I waggled my eyebrows at Josh, who was listening intently even though he was sulking, making him flush darker.

"It gets easier the more you do it." I said bashfully, unable to stop the huge grin spreading over my face.

"No, that's really good! I'm just surprised that you've made that much progress already. I take it you want another lesson?"

"If you aren't busy swearing and dropping things." I teased, giddy that I was on the phone, talking with someone besides Josh and Aidan.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm free. Can I just pop right in, or do I have to knock?" Emma asked.

"Come right in. We're all in the kitchen." I said, locking eyes with Josh, who flushed even darker. "Hello?" I asked when she hung up. I blinked and she was suddenly there, causally holding some kind of protein shake, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen.

"Hey, guys," she said as if she did this everyday, popping the top on the drink like it was a soda and taking a sip.

"Are you drinking _whey?"_ Aidan asked, looking at the can, and Emma raised it like a toast.

"Super protein! Breakfast of champions! As I kind of, well, rambled yesterday, I have to eat a lot of protein." She explained.

"No way, that's gross!" Josh said before he could stop himself, making a face.

"_Way._ Get it? Way? Whey? Get it?" She shot back, starting to giggle. "Maybe it's too early." She sighed when no one laughed, sobering up and jumping to sit next to me at the table.

"Well, you're a _jumpy_ sort of person, aren't you?" I said before I could stop myself, and she howled with laughter, putting her can on the table.

"That's a good one! I can't believe nobody's said that to me before." She said finally, wiping tears of laughter out of her eyes, then putting her hair up in a messy bun. "Ok, so, lesson time, huh?" She started quickly, seeing Aidan rolling his eyes in the corner. "What'll it be today? Becoming suddenly visible to humans? Carrying stuff in your pockets? Blowing stuff up? Letting humans hear you?-"

"Blowing stuff up." I said instantly, cutting her off, thinking about Danny.

"Absolutely not." Josh yelped, and Aidan chuckled. "What if-I mean- there has to be some stuff that's off limits, you can't just _blow_ stuff up, that's really, well…destructive." Josh said hurriedly.

"He's got a point. I'm not going to teach you to be a killing machine. There was this one ghost I met in Dubai, really fucked up dude, he started blowing up kittens in a pet store one time- what a mess, I mean-" Emma started, then cut herself off, flushing and hastily taking a sip of her protein shake-thing.

"Passing over the exploding kittens…I'd still like to learn how." I said, trying not to smile when I said it and found that I was unable to.

"Well, that should keep you two occupied for awhile." Aidan muttered as Emma jumped to the doorway, calling me into the living room.

**oOoOoOo**

"Ok, focus on it." Emma said seriously. Both of us were standing on the stairs, eyes even with the banister. Sitting on it was a chapstick. "Now, can you picture a chapstick in your head? Can you see inside it?"

"Yes?" I said, doing as she told me, smirking slightly when I saw Josh's head peek out of the kitchen, too curious to stay away for long.

"Good, ok, now, move the inside to the outside, you know what I mean? Sometimes it helps if you're mad." She said, standing on tiptoe so that she was a bit taller. Thinking of Danny, I felt myself scowl at the freaking chapstick sitting so innocently on the banister, mocking me.

"Wait, is that _my_ chapstick?" Josh said, realizing it a second too late. With a satisfied smile, I made the chapstick explode, little bits of Vaseline going everywhere, Emma jumping out of the way just in time.

"Hell yeah! Up top," Emma said, and I slapped her a high-five then squealed in delight. I was touching people again. I was blowing up chapstick. I was being _awesome._

"Hey, guys! Remember how I said some stuff should be off limits and you agreed? That was off limits." Josh huffed, coming out of the kitchen, balking when Emma started to laugh. Then she disappeared, only to return before we could register her disappearance, a pack of chapstick in hand. She threw it to Josh, who caught it, looking stunned.

"Compliments of the nearest drug-store." Emma giggled.

"How fast _are _you?" Josh asked, turning the pack over in his hands.

"Wanna see a test? Hey, Aidan!" She called, and he got up from the living room couch, raising his eyebrows expectantly. Emma jumped to the bottom of the stairs, setting her drink on the banister, then jumping to the front door. "Come here, if you feel so inclined." She said, leaning against the front door. Aidan dutifully walked over. "It's a race! First one to the kitchen doorway wins." Emma said excitedly.

"Ten bucks on Emma," I said instantly, walking down the stairs.

"No way," Josh said, shaking his head. "No one is faster than a vampire."

"On your mark, get set, go!" I said quickly. Aidan hadn't even moved before Emma was there, drink suddenly in her hand, grinning. "You owe me ten bucks!" I said gleefully to Josh, whose jaw had dropped.

"That's crazy." He said quietly, obviously thinking. If Emma was _that_ fast, there would be no problem with her helping Josh, and now he knew it. Focusing on the pack of chapstick in his hands, I made it explode. Josh screamed like a girl, covering his head as bits of plastic and Vaseline went everywhere. Aidan burst out laughing, having to prop himself up on the front door he was laughing so hard.

"I've created a monster. No pun intended." Emma said with mock sorrow, trying not to laugh.

"What was that for?" Josh spluttered, wiping grease off of his shirt.

"I was being a monstrous monstrosity to this house full of monsters." I forced out, laughing so hard I was doubled over.

"No way," Emma choked out, and we howled with laughter together until Josh ran up the stairs past me, muttering about how annoying we were going to be.

"Maybe you guys should take it outside." Aidan said finally after we'd all stopped chuckling to ourselves.

"Sure. Sally, let's go have an _explosive_ afternoon." Emma said, waggling her eyebrows at me. "Come on, I'll take you up to the roof." She extended her hand to me and I took it. Suddenly on the roof, in the bright sunlight, I plopped down with a happy sigh. Then I noticed the AC unit sitting there…

**oOoOoOo**

"Got a lot to think about?" I asked nonchalantly, leaning against the doorframe behind Josh, who jumped, then cursed me lightly under his breath, something along the lines of, 'damn vampires'.

"I don't know what you mean." He said stiffly, trying to wash the chapstick goo off his hands.

"Come on, Josh! You saw how fast she is. Why are you so afraid for help?" I demanded, moving into the room and advancing on Josh. It was my favorite tactic to get him to spill; it made him incredibly nervous.

"I-well-you-see-don't—I just don't want anyone to get hurt, ok?" he admitted finally, looking at my shoes. "Aidan, she looks like Emily." He continued after a long moment of silence.

"Emma is not your sister, Josh, and not nearly as vulnerable. Just give it a shot. It might make you feel better about, you know, being wolfy." I pushed, and he sighed, turning off the water and grabbing clean shirt.

"Fine, I'll give it a shot." He muttered.

"Good boy," I said, and he scowled at me.

"What is it with this house and puns?" He shouted to no one in particular, sitting on the toilet.

"Careful, don't drink out of it," Sally said, suddenly standing in the shower, pointing at the toilet. Josh looked at her, daring her to go further.

"Why would he do that? He doesn't want _dog_ breath." Emma said, appearing next to her. "So you want to give it a go? Awesome!" She continued brightly when Josh put his head in his hands, probably resisting the urge to throw something. "We can start today if you want."

"As long as you drop the puns." His voice came out muffled, then he chuckled a little, raising his head. There was a look in his eyes I hadn't seen in awhile- happiness, true happiness.

"I think I can live with that." Emma said lazily, chugging the rest of her whey drink. "Okay, step one will be to find a place where only we can get in-"

"I've already got a place like that at the Hospital." Josh interrupted.

"Then let's go take a look. Where is it?" Emma asked, extending her hand. Josh looked at me a second, as if for guidance, and I shrugged at him. Unwillingly, Josh described what floor it was on, slowly taking her hand, awkward. "Cool, Sally, keep practicing. We'll be back in a flash."

Then they were gone.


	3. Relations

_Jumper_

**Josh has seriously got to get over himself, and Rebecca and Aidan have some catching up to do…**

_Relations_

"I like what you've done with the place," I commented, ignoring the blinking and baffled Josh, striding around the place he'd described. "There's a lot of charm." It looked like a cell for the mentally ill from about the 1950's, adding a certain doom and gloom to the room. Walking over to the door, I tugged on it, felt around the edges, and even kicked it a couple times until I was satisfied. The door was made out of steel, the walls concrete. It was perfect. Nobody could get in, and no one (besides me) was getting out.

"Are sure… this is safe for you?" Josh asked slowly, then steamrolled ahead. "I mean, it's not that-"

"Josh, I may not look like it, but I'm a professional. The hardest part about this whole thing will be trusting each other, not if I can make it out." I said firmly, and he looked at me strangely for a second before looking away. "And us not being awkward, cause, hell, I'm awkward by nature. I'm like a drunk aardvark; kinda ugly and certainly stupid." I ranted, seeing him starting to flush and feeling bad about it. "And have you ever _seen _an aardvark, cause they are just _weird _looking." I shut myself up hastily, internally cringing at how stupid I was being. Ranting about _aardvarks? _How would that make _anyone_ feel better?

"You kind of remind me of my sister…and that's just going to be…difficult." Josh said suddenly, looking determinedly at a scratch on the floor from one of his transformations, awkwardly yet protectively wrapping his arms around him. Dead silence filled the room. This was the part I hated the most about helping people; they all had sticky nasty pasts that affected who they were, and they didn't want to talk about it. Example A? _Moi._

"You remind me of what I remember of my little brother." I offered finally, finding my own object to focus on when he looked up. Not many people heard this story, and I kept it that way for a reason. "When I was ten I couldn't control where I jumped and where I went. One day I was babysitting my brother…and then I was crashing into some vendor's stand in a market in Belize. I never found my way back home." I told a shortened less painful version of my story in a flat voice. The less he had to know, the better.

"Why couldn't you find your way back?" Josh asked quietly, and I looked up at him. He had astonishingly large, deep brown eyes that made you feel peaceful, just like my brother. I smiled sadly, taking a slow walk around the room, trailing my fingers over the gouges and scratches in the walls. It was almost impossible to believe that some as gentle and unwieldy as Josh could have made those marks.

"The vendor's stand was full of magnets. Jumpers can't stand close contact with them- it's like werewolves and silver. They can do anything from erase your memory to kill you." I admitted.

"Oh," Josh said uncomfortably, and then, after a brief pause (as he gathered his wits) said, "I was bitten about two years ago. I had to run away from my family and my fiancée to hide who I am- and for some reason you remind me of my sister. It's nothing personal. Well, that is kind of personal, but it's not like a grudge or anything," He ranted quickly, as if ashamed of himself for telling me that tidbit about his life. It was actually kind of strange to picture him having a normal life.

"Oh," I said quickly, trying not to think about it too much. I'd helped and met a lot of sad people like Josh, people whose lives were destroyed by who they'd become. It was the only reason I used my 'glitch for good', as Rebecca had once put it. "Well! Now that we've got all that awkward…stuff…out of the way, do you want to actually do something constructive?" I asked, swinging my arms and turning back to face him, grinning, even if it was a tad hollow.

"Sure," he said, and I plopped down on the floor, patting the hard cement next to me.

"Let's have a chat then, shall we?" I suggested, and Josh sat. "Here's the plan. During every full moon, I'll pop in and out of this room almost constantly. Eventually, once you learn to expect that as a wolf, I'll slow down a little so that I spend more time in the room. By the end of it, you should expect and _respect_ my presence in a room. Then I train you all over again with someone else. It's all about getting your 'inner wolf' to trust me. It's weird, cause usually you don't remember it in the morning."

"How long will this take, overall?" He asked, picking at his shoelace.

"Well, most werewolves take about…" I counted on my fingers, trying to quickly average all my cases, "…well, it all depends on the wolf. You'll be easier because you're a normal person every other day of the month. Those who live a more…wild lifestyle are harder to train. Overall though, about two years."

"-T-t-two _years?"_ Josh spluttered.

"Hey, don't feel bad. Most vampires take three or four." I said, patting his shoe. "And you are working with the best- the one and the only. It'll all be worth it." Josh flushed, as usual, and quickly looked around the room as if he'd never seen it before. "Ok, so, um, do you want to get to work, or…?"

"Oh!" He said, his head snapping around to look at me. "Yes, um, of course!"

"Awesome. But right off the bat, I have to tell you that this might be a little uncomfortable for you. Not painful," I added quickly, seeing the look on his face, "but awkward. Other wolves don't really have this problem because they lived in the wild all the time. But you, you live in the city and you never really 'let out' the wolf." I explained, and Josh scrambled to his feet.

"Why are we letting it out? That's not a good idea, that's _really _bad." He insisted nervously, wringing his hands.

"Because. We have to train your inner wolf to like people. If we worked on it only during the full moon, this would take four to seven years, not two." I said patiently, slowly standing up.

"But-but it only comes out when I'm angry and violent!" Josh spluttered, and I looked at him, raising my eyebrows. _How does he not know?_ I thought, looking at him closely. "We're not going to do that, are we? Wait, why are you looking at me like that?" Josh asked with increasing anxiety.

"Okay, back up. I think we're going about this the wrong way. What do you _know_ about _el señor lobo?" _I asked. **(Mr. Wolf)**

"Um, that it's in me and it's feral?" Josh offered, giving me a sheepish, hopeful smile.

"Weeellll, that's _true,_ but sorely lacking in information. Sit yourself back down, it's time for inner wolf 101." I ordered, sitting back down, criss-cross-applesauce style. "Kay, so your inner wolf is awoken only by primal emotions." I said with a straight face, but Josh laughed apprehensively with a bit of hysteria in it.

"Primal?" He squeaked, leaning away.

"Emotions that are raw, like anger, lust, hatred-" I broke off when Josh choked.

"_Lust?" _He squeaked again, higher this time.

"Hey, whoa, calm down, I don't do it that way." I said hurriedly, raising my hands in surrender. "There's one more way to do it, its relaxation. Meditation. That sort of thing." Josh blinked, the flush dying from his face.

"Oh," he said stupidly. Barely resisting the urge to giggle, I straightened up, leaning closer, trying to be serious.

"You have to relax and meditate. Close your eyes and count your breathing…that sort of thing. Eventually you'll be able to get in touch with the inner wolf. If you connect to it in a peaceful manner, it'll start to be peaceful when it takes you over."

"How do you know all this stuff?" He asked, looking at me with surprise.

"I've met a lot of werewolves." I told him, then stood up, pulling my iPod out of my sweats pocket. "Stretch out and get comfy." I told him, and it made him flush again, but he stretched out, putting his arms under his head. "Ok, close your eyes and pretend your taking a nap." I continued, setting my iPod on the floor, soft yet trippy and dreamy music coming out of it. After jumping three times to try and reach the single lightbulb in the ceiling, I had to let Josh get up and do it, plunging the room in darkness. In the dark, quiet room, all I could hear was his gentle breathing. Once it got to the state right above sleep, I spoke. "Josh, where is your inner wolf?"

"Away," he mumbled sleepily. Rolling my eyes, I tried again.

"Bring him out, Josh. Slowly let him loose." I said as persuasively as possible. Seconds later, a gentle growl edged over each of Josh's breaths- it was out. Glad that my hypnosis had worked, I stayed perfectly still, letting the wolf get used to being in the perfect environment, dark and soothing, with a slight human scent on the air. Then I took a step forward. My eyes, having adjusted to the dark, saw Josh twitch, but he stayed under. When I took another step, he let out a warning growl, his lip actually curling, even though his face stayed slack and calm. I stayed where I was for awhile, and he calmed down. Seeing him so relaxed and calm was so different compared to his usually awkward and slightly nervous demeanor. I'd never made it this far with someone's inner wolf- usually they snapped out of the hypnosis when they first smelled me. Daringly, I took another step, until I was standing right next to him. With a snarl, Josh leapt up and tried to tackle me. He hit the floor and woke up as I jumped to a far corner. Josh bolted to his feet and looked around, panicking, until his eyes adjusted again to the dark.

"What the hell happened?" He gasped, feeling his head. Not moving, I stayed in my corner, letting him calm down.

"Everything's ok, Josh. You made really great progress." I said, and turned off the stupid music.

"But what did you _do?"_ He groaned, rubbing his temples.

"It a kind of hypnotism that lets out your inner wolf." I said calmly, even when Josh did a double take.

"_You let it out?"_ He asked incredulously, fearfully, almost angrily.

"No, you did. I asked you to, and you did it. And you didn't kill anyone." I continued placidly, and he looked at me like I was crazy until what I'd said had sunk in, and then a grin spread over his face.

"Wait, I did it? But that was so easy!" he exclaimed, stretching up to turn on the lightbulb. Light washed over us and I blinked a few times before finally stepping out of the corner.

"See? It's not that bad." I grinned, slapping him on the back. "Ready to go back?" I asked, offering my hand. Josh hesitated again, as usual, but then took it. "Hey, Sally," I called as Josh stumbled and blinked, still not used to the jump.

"Hey, watch this!" She said instantly, and then I was ducking as shards of something exploding went flying past me. "Wait, wait…cool huh?" She crowed after she made the pieces zoom back together and reform what had been a plastic bowl. It was the weirdest thing I'd ever seen, considering that I couldn't see where Sally was. Then, I felt a huge pang in my gut from ducking so fast. I was low on protein; I needed to eat.

"Oh, man," I said, flopping on the couch, suddenly very shaky. "That is _really_ advanced, Sally, did you figure that out all by yourself?"

"Yup!" She crowed again, and I could just picture her grinning hugely.

"Are you ok? You …look weird." Josh said slowly, having noticed that I violently shoved my hands inbetween my knees.

"I'm runnin' low on protein." I muttered, standing up. "I'll just bounce back home."

"Actually, Rebecca and Aidan went there and asked not to be disturbed. Vampire thing. What ever." Sally piped up from what sounded like across the room.

"You can stay! We got food, and blood, and well, um, beer, but we have food." Josh said, getting up and bounding into the kitchen like a puppy. I got up and walked after him, sticking my hands deep in my sweats' pockets so that he couldn't see them shaking. "We got um, turkey and um, soda and I think that's eggsalad. Huh," He said, sticking his head in the refrigerator to see better. "Wait, no, that's blood. Gross." He pulled his head out, smacking it on the way and swearing weakly, rubbing the back of it. I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"How about the pantry? Got any granola?" I suggested, and he opened a cabinet and pulled out a box of cereal. He offered it to me with a hopeful shrug.

"That'll do, sir," I said, reaching out to take the box, having to use both hands.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Josh asked, concerned.

"This happens all the time." I assured him, sitting on the counter and flipping open the top of the box, taking a handful of Lucky Charms in a trembling hand.

"So you're pretty…normal, huh?" Josh asked, going to lean against the counter and knocking several clean dishes into the sink in the process.

"When I want to be, yes." I said after crunching a handful of the sugary cereal. "Jumps are only cool and, well, useful when I do them quickly. And nobody likes magically disappearing objects."

"…What? What do you mean?" Josh asked after a second as I popped another handful. Grinning, I made the box of Lucky Charms jump around the room, going from the ceiling to the floor. "Whoa," Josh breathed, his big brown eyes huge when I brought the box back to me, taking another handful. "But what did you mean about a slow jump?"

"Oh, watch," I said, and took a deep breath. Slow jumps took more concentration, but they looked pretty cool in my opinion. Slowly my body started to disappear, not in any spot at all. Then with the usual _pop_ I reappeared across the room. Then I bounced back to keep eating the cereal with nonchalance that made me want to laugh.

"That's actually useful, can you stay all invisible like that for long?" He asked, eyes still huge.

"Oh yeah. I use it to train guys like you all the time." I said, then crunched another handful, my hands starting to shake less.

"What happens if you don't eat?" he asked after a little while. I lowered the box thoughtfully. It hadn't happened to me in awhile.

"It's like my body's reaction is a normal one, but sped up. It'll start digesting my own muscles for food. Gross, I know," I added, seeing the look on his face.

**oOoOoOo**

"Oh, oh-GOD," I groaned in Aidan's ear as he bit down lightly on my side, making my back arch. With Emma, Sally and Josh all being entertained, he'd snuck away to meet me at the hotel Emma and I were staying at.

"I missed you," Aidan purred, then choked slightly when I barely nibbled on his earlobe.

"I'm staying. Forever," I breathed, licking the blood off of his ear.

"That's all I need," he murmured around my skin, before going back to biting into my side.


	4. Accidental Jumps

_Jumper_

**Everyone is progressing, even if it doesn't feel like it.**

_Accidental Jumps_

When Josh was working, I worked with Sally. Regardless of even Aidan's schedule, he and Rebecca were inseparable and probably doing unspeakable things in an empty hospital room right now. I was currently lying underneath the coffee table listening to Josh pace nervously around the room. He had the day off, but it was also the night of the full moon. Without something to distract him, he was like an animal in a cage; it drove him mad to know that _it_ was going to come out in a few hours whether he wanted it to or not. "We should leave early." I said finally when he started to mutter to himself.

"Why?" He responded like lightning, and it was short and irritated.

"Because you need to calm down before you do this or you'll be more beastly than usual. Besides, pacing isn't doing you much good." I replied, letting logic do most of my work for me. Josh stopped pacing as I jumped from underneath the table to sitting on the landing of the stairs.

"You know what? I changed my mind. You shouldn't come." The squirrelly, nervous side was coming out of him now, and that was worse then him being irritated. A nervous wolf is a defensive wolf.

"Josh, Aidan is…too busy right now to take you and will probably be…too busy to come and get you in the morning." I danced around the careful topic of Aidan getting his brains fucked out by Rebecca and focused on poor Bambi-eyed Josh. "Come on," I said calmly, and offered him my hand, as usual. Over the past week, he'd gotten used to just taking it and going, but today he hesitated. With a snort, I grabbed his half-extended hand- and then there we were. "Right, now, my goal is that you'll transform as calm as you've usually been in here." I started briskly, snapping my fingers and pointing to the floor, my non-verbal order to him to sit. "Here," I gave him a stress ball, then sat behind him.

"What are you doing?" He almost yelped when I started to rub his shoulders. I could almost feel the heat from his face as he blushed.

"Trying to keep your head from exploding," I replied, and his shoulder muscle (which was full of knots) crumpled for a second when I pushed harder with my thumb. "Are you working that stress ball?" I asked accusingly, and he sighed, which told me that he now was. "First time is always the hardest." I said encouragingly, using the heels of my hands to soothe away the tensions in his shoulders and back.

"You shouldn't be here," he started up again about two hours later, but it was wearily defensive this time. I moved to his neck and he hung his head in silent shame.

"You should try to be thinking calm and happy thoughts before I karate chop the back of your neck." I said cheerfully, pausing to take a swig of a protein shake. I'd been drinking them like crazy all day- I'd need the protein tonight. I'd have to pee like mad later, but whatever. As it got later and later, I worked harder and harder to keep Josh semi-calm. He was probably the most difficult werewolf I'd ever worked with; he hated his change and therefore tried to force it back. That made the 'inner wolf' even angrier, so he was an angrier wolf. Other werewolves I'd worked with had simply let it happen, and were a lot easier to keep calm and centered before it. Then, suddenly, as I was rubbing his temples, he jerked up out of my grasp with a hiss, slowly curling in on his midsection. "Easy, Josh, easy, it's ok. Take deep breaths." I coached, prying one of his fists apart to squeeze his hand.

"You-can't—be here. Leave," He panted, then yelled in pain, his whole body contracting in on itself as the transformation started to come. "Please—just go—_go!"_ he begged brokenly, and it threw me completely for a loop. No one had ever had this problem before, and it was mind boggling. Squeezing his hand tighter, I rapidly threw my thoughts back together as he shouted out again, this one getting deeper, more feral.

"I'm not leaving; I said I'd help you, and I'm going to. Just hold on, find that state and release the wolf." I continued coaching like he hadn't even asked me to go, and kept giving him tips right up until he started to grow teeth and claws. Then I hastily let go of his hand and backed into a corner. Usually, watching a werewolf transform didn't bother me; they were always quick and relatively painless. But Josh's took about three times and long, and seemed three times as painful. He fought it every step of the way, even though I'd told him repeatedly not to. Holding perfectly still, I watched the werewolf I was now in the room with flip off of its back on the floor and stand up, it's curved and hairy back almost brushing light bulb on the ceiling. Josh was gone for the next 24 hours. In his place was a completely different mind and personality; I could never count on the inner wolf acting like Josh did in real life. Seconds later, he smelled me, and whipped around, snarling, baring _huge _teeth. As he started to advance, I closed my eyes, getting ready for the long night ahead.

Then I was almost constantly jumping in and out of the room. I'd go to different spots, and stay for varying times. The wolf lumbered around the room, slashing and roaring, but was always far too late. At about four in the morning, I started to slow down. Eventually, the wolf fell asleep, and I could pop in less often and for longer. Only when the fur started to disappear on the wolf's body did I stop jumping in. Exhausted and trembling, I camped out in front of the door after chugging a protein shake. Easily dozing off, I slept until seven thirty on the dot like I always did. After listening closely for any noise inside the room (there was none), I chugged another protein shake and sat down at the foot of the door, leaning against it, waiting for Josh to rise and shine. It wasn't an easy wait. No matter how much protein I had after a night of coaching a werewolf I was always shaking and looked like hell. I really needed to go back to the hotel and crash. Crossing my shaky legs, I tried to think about something else other than tired and hungry I was. "Emma?" A hoarse voice called from inside the room and I leapt about a foot and a half, almost accidentally jumping I was so scared. Scrambling to my feet, I jumped inside the room. Josh turned away from the door and then started when he got a good look at me. He didn't look too hunky-dory himself, with big bags under his eyes. He also carried himself like every werewolf did the next day; stiff and sore.

"Hey, you ready to blow this joint?" I asked, forcing back a yawn, offering my trembling hand.

"What _happened_ to you?" He asked, shocked, looking me up and down, taking in the customary pale face, shaking body, limp posture, blah, blah, blah. Personally, I didn't think that he looked much better, but I wasn't about to tell him that.

"One night full of nonstop jumping action," I replied, walking over and touching his shoulder since he wouldn't take my hand. "It's not that nice to ya." I continued, turning to flop onto their couch now that we were back in Josh and Aidan's apartment, but pulled up short. Aidan was stretched out, a coffee mug full of blood wedged between his leg and the couch. "Well, then, I'm gonna bounce." I said hastily, looking away as his dark eyes took me in, an eyebrow rising in concern. "Just call, _adios!"_ As both men opened their mouths to speak, their apartment dissolved to reform into the hotel room Rebecca and I were staying at. Now that I was free to nurse my pain in private, I flopped onto a bed and instantly curled up, falling asleep. When I woke up again, the room was dark, as I knew it would be. I always slept for a good day after a jump night, my body needed to regain the energy. Unfortunately, I hadn't had a jump night in a while, and it was like starting an exercise regimen: brutal. I wasn't shaky anymore, but I was stiff and sore.

"Took you long enough," Rebecca said lazily as I sat up with a low moan, taking out my destroyed ponytail and running my fingers through my hair. I felt like shit, like I was just starting to get the flu. A killer headache was building in my temple.

"Bite me," I muttered, and Rebecca laughed, stretching out on her own twin bed and picking up the TV remote. As she raised it towards the TV, the edges of the room started to disintegrate without my permission. I was going to have an uncontrolled jump, an accidental jump, to a place I didn't know. Gasping, my hands clenched into fists on the sheets, trying to ground myself. This couldn't happen, not now; I'd been doing so well-

"That can be arranged, if you-"She started, turning to look at me. Just when her face registered concern, I was ripped away. After a moment of disorienting darkness, struggling tendrils of color from a new place forced their way into the darkness. Sprawling onto a dirt road, bright sun was suddenly beating down on my face. It was unbearably hot outside, even though I was in sweatpants and a tanktop. Taking a quick look around, I noted several stick and mud shacks, as well as two or three mules. Standing around was a huge pack of men. I quickly looked down as one looked at me. I needed a place, a place to go- _think, think, think!_

"Mare de dèu! Mata el diable!" A voice shouted, and many footsteps started to run over as I quickly got up, turning to face the noise. The huge crowd of men was running down the packed earth towards me, raising machetes.

"Shit," I squeaked, turning tail and running for my life. In bare feet, sweat pants and a tank top, I pelted down the hot road, trying to think clearly. To jump, you had to focus directly on the place you wanted to go. Usually, I didn't have any trouble concentrating on that, but with a pack of men brandishing very large knives chasing me, I couldn't exactly conjure a clear image. _Think, think, think, think, oh god, you're so fucked!_ My mind screamed as a knife whizzed mast me. Glancing quickly over my shoulder, I saw that the group of men was getting closer. Suddenly, they all started to laugh, slowing down. At first, I thought they were going to let me go, but when I smelt ocean, I skidded to a stop. Ten feet away, the land suddenly fell sharply down to the sea. Whirling around, I saw that the men had closed in, knowing that there was nowhere for me to run to now. Huge white grins stood out against their dark skin.

"_La seva pell!"_ One of them roared, and the rest of the crowd roared in approval, stepping closer yet. Chancing a quick look behind me, I took a few more steps back. I had to think of a place, a place I could go. Before the men could get too close, I turned, ran the few extra feet, then threw myself off of the edge, jumping as the air whistled around me, blowing my hair back.

It didn't work, to put it frankly.

I'd tried focusing on the hotel room, but as a cold, wet death roared up to meet me, all I could think about was that; the ocean. Instead of going back to safety, I made a huge splash as I jumped into an ocean, of all things. Gasping and spluttering, I started to tread water, clawing hair out of my eyes. The scene around me had completely changed; it was night, and a few feet away were some icebergs. Stars winked down at me from a perfectly clear sky. The water was _freezing._ But since there wasn't a mob of men with machetes coming after me, I could at least count it as an improvement. "Come on, come on," I muttered angrily, trying to follow my own advice and calm down. After taking several deep, searing breaths (the water was seriously _freezing_), I closed my eyes, picturing keenly in my mind's eye the hotel room. _Rebecca's there. Or did she freak out and go to the house?_ I couldn't help but think right before I jumped. Microseconds later, I collided with something hard, cracking my head open. It hurt so bad I cried out in pain, falling. On the way, I hit something _else_ that was nice and hard, tripping over it, spilling its contents onto the floor. At this point, I'd made enough noise to probably wake the dead, and I had no idea where the hell I was. It certainly _wasn't_ the hotel room. "Ow, _fuck,_" I couldn't help but groan through chattering teeth, wiping on my burning forehead and feeling something hot and wet come off onto my hand.

"Whose there?" A voice asked curiously, one that I knew all too well. Seconds later, the light flicked on. Blinking against the smarting, bright light, I propped myself up on the remains of what I now saw as a laundry hamper- I'd landed on it and flattened it. Since I was soaking wet, sea brine was now soaking into the clothes and all over the floor. "_Emma?" _Josh asked incredulously, coming over and extending a hand to help me up.

"Ahoy, matey," I grumbled, letting him pull me up, pressing my free hand to a large, bleeding gash on my forehead. It was stinging bitterly from the salt water dripping from my hair, freezing it in strands.

"How did you get in here, why are you bleeding, and _why_ are you wet?" He asked curiously, surveying the damage my off course jump had caused.

"Accidental jump," I muttered, trying to staunch the flow of blood as it started to run down my face. "I totally lost it and started jumping to random places."

"Whoa, ok, um, why don't you sit down?" Josh offered steering me to an unmade bed. As he ducked into the hallway to get to the bathroom, I realized he was in his pajamas. After taking a quick look around and feeling the residual heat on the bed, I realized this was his _room._ Despite the mess (the broken dresser and destroyed laundry hamper), the place was actually really neat compared to most werewolf rooms I'd been in. "Here, ok, hold still," he said, coming back with gauze in his hands and gently pressing on the huge gash. "So you were jumping to places you couldn't control? Where'd you go?" He asked curiously, peeling back the gauze and wincing at my cut. Up close, his big brown eyes looked even bigger, and they always reflected the current emotion he was feeling.

"A third world country and a freaking cold ocean." I said, starting to shiver violently. "And, of course, your house. I got really lucky this time."

"You'll have to go to the hospital." He frowned, pulling away the ball of gauze. It was soaked with blood.

"Damn it," I muttered, standing up and almost hitting the floor when dark spots loomed sharply over my eyes. My head started spinning.

"Holy-" Josh yelped as he caught and steadied me. "Whoa, ok, too much blood loss, um," For someone who worked in a hospital, Josh was suddenly very uncoordinated and definitely lost as to what to do next. As he was muttering, I saw the edges of the room start to whip away, like fog falling down and incline; in tendrils.

"Let go, Josh." I choked, feeling my whole body tense up. Josh instantly let go, as if I was on fire, turning as he heard footsteps mounting the stairs. Both of my vampire friends appeared in the doorway as it started to disappear.

"Come on, Emma, you got this," Rebecca encouraged, stepping forward. She'd only seen me do this a million times; she knew my habits. "Focus on me," she continued, taking another step. She knew how easy it was for a jumper to fall into a death spiral, where they couldn't focus on anything and jumped constantly until the amount of energy killed them. Fighting it, I felt my body start to disappear.

"Should…we…go?" Josh asked, sounding almost afraid when my shivers picked up again. _You want to stay here. Your clients are here. Your friends are here. You don't want to go anywhere else._ The harder I thought about it, the more the room seemed to fall apart.

"I can't hold it!" I gasped right before the whole room vanished, as if it'd been wiped off a dry erase board in one stroke. I fell hard on cold slightly wet metal and just lay there for a second, focusing on breathing._ In…out. In…out_. The reason I could coach werewolves so well was because I needed to follow the same advice sometimes. Once I kept myself from jumping again, I lifted my head and felt my stomach drop. I was dead even with a magnificent skyline. Wind buffeted where I was on all sides, and I could hear the structure I was on creak and groan occasionally. Traffic roared below. Daring to prop myself up, I got a good look around at my amazing view from _**ontop**__ of the Golden Gate Bridge._ "One of these days you're going to seriously get hurt." I told myself, peeking off the side and to the long dark abyss down to the water below with a quiet whimper. If I'd been a few more feet to either side, I'd have fallen all the way down to the bay and most certainly have died. "Ok, you're ok. You got this." I spoke to myself again, pressing my throbbing head back to the cold metal, feeling it sting on the cut, which was _still _bleeding. I wanted to jump right back to the apartment, but if I went too soon, I wouldn't be able to stay. It was a very careful process, getting back into my concentrated mode. _Poor Rebecca. Poor everyone. I bet I scared the living shit out of Josh._ I thought, listening to the evening traffic rumble below me. It'd been pretty late, and it was hard to wake a werewolf.

For one, whole, torturous hour, I stayed up on the bridge, glad that it was night and I couldn't be seen. For sixty minutes I stayed on that damn bridge, collecting my wits until I thought I was good enough to jump back home. By that time, I was almost iced onto the bridge, starving, and pretty damn woozy from hitting my head on Josh's goddamn dresser. Sending up some form of a prayer, I jumped. It wasn't one of my more beautiful or most coordinated ones, considering I skidded to a stop, tripped, and fell on my ass. "You good?" Rebecca asked instantly, appearing next to me, itching to give me a hand up. But she knew the rules- if I took her with me and then couldn't get her back from wherever I went, she'd be totally screwed. No one was supposed to touch me until I was back in my 'zen' mode.

"As good as I'm going to get," I grumbled, and she pulled me up.

"Sit," ordered Rebecca, Josh, Aidan and Sally all at the same time, with varying levels of authority and concern.

"Sitting," I sighed, plopping into the armchair. Josh and Aidan converged instantly, looking at the now clotted over cut, unleashing their inner doctor.

"Where'd you go this time?" Rebecca asked, whipping out her little notebook and pen. She was terribly interested in where I went. Rebecca had a theory that my brain subconsciously decided where I wanted to go, and that there might be a pattern to the madness.

"Some third world country, a fucking cold ocean, and the top of the Golden Gate Bridge," I relayed, jumping a granola bar from our hotel room and peeling open the wrapper.

"Seriously?" Aidan asked, looking impressed.

"It's not that great, trust me." I said, breaking off a piece of the granola and eating it.


	5. Sloppy Seconds

_Jumper_

**Emma and Josh get some surprise visitors…**

_Sloppy Seconds_

"You ask me that one more time and I'll rip your fluffy little ears off." Emma's voice, irritated yet very much amused echoed from a corner of the room. I'd just asked her again if she was feeling ok, even thought she'd threatened everyone in the house very creatively when they kept asking. It'd been a few days after her jumping fiasco which had fascinated everyone in the house. The way she'd described it had sounded so…unearthly. Weird. It made me, the werewolf, feel almost normal. "Hey, focus," Emma reprimanded, as she heard my breathing speed up as my thoughts flew away from me. Part of 'the process' was to learn to meditate and bring out the inner wolf without the dark room and soothing music, something I was finding incredibly difficult. My mind would just wander, and wander… "Oi!" Emma said indignantly, nudging my side with her foot.

"Sorry, sorry!" I chuckled, and I heard her huff. Trying to focus again, I thought back to the techniques she'd taught me, like identifying scents in the room. The more I could smell, the more relaxed I was. Thanks to being part wolf, I could smell a _lot_ more stuff than normal humans, which was good and bad. It had a rare moment of good when Emma jumped right into my dresser at three in the morning, bashing her head open and making a hell of a lot of noise. As soon as I woke up, I knew who it was just by smelling the air. Everyone smelt different. Aidan's was cold and slightly antisepticky, Sally was like just a tiny whiff of Febreeze, Rebecca was like having your head in a bouquet of orchids, and Emma smelt…fresh, even when she'd been covered in brine and blood. The room we were in had its musky scent, along with the smell of the stone and iron, but most of the space smelled like Emma. All of a sudden, a new scent came into the air, overpowering and icy. Opening my eyes, I sat up, turning towards the source and freezing on the spot. The Bishop was looking through the tiny window in the door, eyes narrowed, currently staring down Emma, who was staring right back. As the door started to open, Emma vanished, appearing on the other side, pushing the door shut with one hand.

"You must be the Bishop," she said coolly as I scrambled to my feet. I'd seen what the Bishop had done to Aidan; a nearly indestructible vampire. Emma was basically human; she had no chance against him.

"You must be 'Emma McCann, Trainer and Curer of Addictions'." The Bishop said sourly, pulling one of her business cards out of his police jacket and reading off of it. "You're the one stealing all my recruits." He accused right off the bat as I crossed to the window, peering out anxiously, not at all liking how I was locked inside the room.

"Actually, I'd call it sloppy seconds." Emma said mildly, and the Bishop twitched, as if holding back his nasty fangs. Her comment pissed him off, I could tell. "The people I ask don't have to accept my help."

"You need to back off, and leave my turf. Take your little mutt with you." He demanded, and Emma put a hand on her hip, leaning closer with a scowl.

"I can't stop you from recruiting in the hospital, but we're below it. Neither of us are leaving. Consider this place ours." She laid down her ultimatum, gesturing back to the room. They glared at each other for a moment, and the tension mounted. I pressed my hands to the door, as if I could will it away. Emma looked so tiny compared to the Bishop.

"Perhaps you need a bit more persuasion." He said, motioning someone over from the dark shadows of the hallway. _Ray_ came into the light, shooting me a smirk.

"I'm afraid we haven't met before, care for a business card?" Emma asked sarcastically, jumping one into her hand.

"We haven't met, but Josh and I go _way_ back." He grinned, and I felt my jaw clench. Emma looked back at me a moment, confused. "You think you can shackle the wolf, _train _it and change it? You're wrong. The wolf isn't made to be controlled! If you don't stop, we'll stop you." Ray took an intimidating step forward so that Emma had to glare up into his face.

"Ever been to Lesotho? Or Siberia? How about Antarctica? The Sahara Desert? I didn't think so. If you don't watch yourself, that's where you'll be going. You've forgotten that I'm not totally human." Emma said, giving Ray a shove backwards. With a low growl, he grabbed her ponytail and yanked her head back, exposing her throat.

"_HEY!" _I yelled angrily, but neither the Bishop nor Ray even looked at me. I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears; my wolf was almost out. Seeing Emma like that made my blood boil.

"You're not playing with a little puppy, girl, you're playing with a wolf. That's a lot more dangerous of a game,' He snarled, giving her a jerk. Then he had suddenly flown into the ceiling, then the floor, then back to the ceiling, hitting with a dull thud each time. Finally, his body flew into the Bishop, knocking them both back down the hallway with a huge _bang._

"You touch me again and I'll make sure you disappear for good." Emma hissed at the two of them before jumping back into the room, taking my sleeve, then jumping us back into the apartment. "How the _hell_ do you know that guy?" She asked instantly, plopping onto the sofa and rubbing her neck.

"He's the wolf who bit me," I said angrily, kicking the coffee table as I sat opposite her.

"What?" She gasped, her hand slipping off of her neck.

"You heard," I said bitingly, glaring at the floor. "We can't do this anymore, not with the Bishop and Ray coming after you. We shouldn't have even started."

"Who said they were 'coming after me'? I can take care of myself, Josh. It's not like they are the first people to have a problem with what I'm doing." Emma shot back in a hard voice.

"What's going on?" Sally asked, appearing from nowhere, looking more and more concerned when she saw the look on my face.

"Josh's creator and the Bishop paid us a little visit today." Emma said nonchalantly, as if she hadn't just been close to being attacked, as if she hadn't just been threatened.

"Emma, those men are _dangerous!"_ I shouted, standing up. My pulse was back in my ears, my heart beating faster. "Ray _grabbed _your hair, he _attacked _you!"

"Oh, so he's got a name, does he?" Emma asked coolly, and a low growl came from my chest, my eyes narrowing. Did she think this was a game?

"Whoa," Sally said, floating back a few steps.

"Josh, come back to yourself." Emma said cautiously, standing up slowly. "Cool down." After several deep breaths and a moment with my eyes closed, I realized that for the first time, I'd almost let the inner wolf out through anger. Disappointed with myself, I flopped back down, cradling my head in my hands. I _never_ got angry. "I'll be alright, Josh, I can instantly disappear if they come after me. And it's not like I don't have you and Aidan to kick their asses-"

"Whose asses am I kicking, and why?" Aidan asked simply, coming in and holding the door for Rebecca, as if he beat up people everyday.

"Possibly the Bishop's, but absolutely Ray's," Emma said in a hard voice, and Aidan and Rebecca instantly sat down, knowing that something was up. "They decided to try and scare us away today." She elaborated, curling her legs underneath her and shooting me an apologetic glance.

"Is that a bruise?" Rebecca asked, half rising from her seat, staring hard at Emma's neck, something that would usually worry me, considering that Rebecca was a vampire.

"Nope. Ok, yes, yes it is." Emma sighed, giving in when my head jerked up. "Stupid vampire super-vision." Emma muttered as Aidan pulled Rebecca back down, looking furious. His two least favorite people in the whole wide world were working together now, which was like the goddamn apocalypse if you ask me. I mean, Emma had certainly held her own, but Ray was freaking _insane,_ and the Bishop wasn't much better. "He's just mad that I'm 'stealing his recruits', not so much mad at me personally. And, hell, I don't even _know_ Ray." Emma muttered, almost to herself, jumping a thing of string-cheese from the fridge and using her teeth to pry open the wrapper. She started drumming her fingers against it, the only indication that she was nervous.

"I still don't think we should go back." I said, cowering slightly under her furious gaze.

"No way, you've made way to much progress." She interjected, even though I clearly wasn't done talking.

"They could really hurt you…the next time…though." I lost steam as her eyes bored into me with more and more intensity. I truly was a spineless coward, especially around women.

"Enough with the protectiveness, ok? I'm way ahead of you." Emma said, reaching into her sock and pulling out a _switchblade._ "It's only for emergencies." She said quickly, seeing the look on Aidan's face. "I usually keep it on me with an ID and some protein because you saw how I get when I'm jumping all over the damn place, and after those freaks with the machetes- sorry." She cut off her rant when Rebecca threw her hands in the air. "I don't think I've ever even used it," she continued, sticking it back into her sock. "It's probably because I _hate_ wearing socks, I'd rather be barefoot, but then I can't _carry_ the blade, so…yeah." Emma summarized, going back to the string cheese.

"I'll talk to the Bishop." Aidan said after a moment of silence. "You aren't doing anything wrong."

"Do you not remember the last time you 'talked' to the Bishop?" Sally snorted, sitting on the couch next to Emma. "I don't think that'll go very well. We should just leave it alone."

"What if we both went?" Rebecca asked, laying a hand on Aidan's arm when his fist clenched, obviously remembering how the Bishop had kicked his ass.

"I still wouldn't do it. The Bishop has a lot of vampires on his side." Emma said, pulling out her pony tail and shaking her head to let her hair lie flat. "I agree with Sally, you should just let it be. That's what I've always done." Even though Rebecca, Aidan and Sally continued to debate if they should do something, Emma and I stayed silent. Emma jumped a book into her hands and started reading, ignoring the heated argument going on around her. Conflicted, I watched her read. She was selfless and pretty damn fearless, but her job was still dangerous. I wanted her help, she really was helping with my 'problem', but if she got hurt on the job _because_ of me, I'd never forgive myself, especially if she was bitten. "Ok, guys, that's seriously enough. Anyone want something to eat?" She asked, throwing down her book after half and hour of arguing.

"Uh, no, we don't _eat,_ silly." Sally said, ruffling her hair, which would've been weird if you couldn't see her, which was exactly Emma's problem.

"Well, I can jump _anything_. You may not be able to eat, but the rest of us can at least digest _something._ Besides, I'm starving."

"No surprise there," Rebecca sniggered, and laughed openly when Emma scowled at her. She had a point, though. When Emma wasn't working (and even when she was) you could always find her with some sort of food. The girl must've had a metabolism as fast as she was; she was stick thin.

"Ok, I don't care. Me, myself and I is craving some Thai." Suddenly, a huge platter of Thai noodles appeared on the coffee table. It was like a cross country runner's dream; it was nothing but carbs. "Yuummm," She sang, unrolling the chopsticks and digging right in.

"Only you could go from a standoff to stuffing your face." Rebecca teased.

"Oh, right! Anyone else want something?" Emma said, setting down her chopsticks for a moment.

"O negative would be great." Aidan said, cracking a smile. I knew he was picturing himself in a drive-thru. Then he started when a packet appeared on his lap.

"AB, I don't care if it's positive or negative." Rebecca chuckled, and was then picking hers off of her lap.

"Josh wants some dog food." Sally giggled, and I shot her a dirty look, jerking out of my daydream, trying not to flush as I realized I'd been staring at Emma the whole time.

"Really?" I asked, wearily defensive. "Again with those damn puns?"

"Duh, I'm bored, people are eating." Sally said matter-of-factly, grinning at me, shooting me a look that said, _why are you staring at her all the time, you freak?_

"Sally, that's not very nice. Josh, what would _you_ like to eat?" She asked, shooting the area around Sally a look. _**You.**_ The wolf thought up for me, and I choked on nothing, turning bright red. Sweet _Jesus, _what the _hell_ was that? "You ok?" She asked as I coughed and spluttered, trying to control myself.

"Fine," I squeaked, dying on the inside from embarrassment. "Uh, um, a pb n' j would be fine." One appeared in front of me, cut into triangles like my mom used to do.

"Crusts off?" Emma asked seriously, picking up her chopsticks again, making Aidan nearly spit out a mouthful of blood he was laughing so hard. "You are so insensitive." She reprimanded him, only making him bury his head in Rebecca's shoulder, laughing silently. "It's a very serious question!"

"Um, actually, if you _could _take them off…" I started, and couldn't stop myself from beaming when they vanished, leaving the rest of the sandwich intact.

"You two are secretly children, I swear." Sally muttered, getting up and vanishing. A juice box appeared next to my sandwich, and when I looked up in disbelief, saw that she was sucking innocently on one of her own.

"What? You want a different flavor?" She asked nonchalantly as I gaped at her. As she went back to her food, I felt my heart swell in affection for her.

_**Delicious, **_said the inner wolf.


	6. Death before Dishonor

_Jumper_

**The Bishop is getting a bit territorial, and Emma needs to stop doing stupid things.**

_Death before Dishonor_

After much pressure from Aidan, Sally, Josh, and Rebecca's sexual needs, Rebecca and I moved into Josh, Aidan's and Sally's house, ditching the hotel. It was definitely weird. I hadn't lived in a house for a long time. Most of the time I'd slept in hotel rooms or hostiles, or, sometimes, if I was really bored, I'd jump into vacated vacation homes and have a blast. Plus, it was _bizarre_ living with other people. If I'd thought that living with Rebecca was weird, then living with three other people on top of her was mind boggling. It was strange to hear other people at night (Josh snored, but it sounded like a dove, which was weird), and having other people competing for the shower wasn't exactly nice. Luckily, since I was the fast one, I _always_ got the shower first in the mornings.

And, man, I was _busy. _I was still coaching Sally when I had a spare moment, I worked with Josh whenever he was available, and in _my _free time, I was working with a vampire named Roberto. The guy was a twenty something dish-washer for a diner, and, unfortunately, he only spoke Spanish. But once I'd translated my business card in Spanish and frantically explained it to him, he agreed to give it a try. He 'belonged' to Bishop, but that wasn't stopping either of us. Lying on the couch, I was flipping through some Spanish flashcards, muttering to myself. Sally was working on her next big thing- making herself suddenly visible to humans. The only downside was that she was randomly appearing in front of me, making me leap in fright. She was actually a really pretty girl, but when she appeared behind me and read the card for me, I screamed out loud she scared me so bad, upending the stack of flashcards all over the floor. "_Jesus, _Sally! You do that one more time and I'll end up-" I shrieked again as the door flew open and Josh barreled in.

"What's going on? Is everything ok? I heard someone scream from outside." He panted, as if he'd been running.

"Everything's fine," I squeaked, a hand over my heart, focusing harder than ever on staying at the house. I didn't want to accidentally jump again- I'd had quite enough over my lifetime. "Sally just keeps scaring me!" I said pointedly, and she huffed, walking through the couch to sit on a chair.

"I _am _a ghost." She muttered, and then used her new awesome powers to restack all my flashcards.

"She's practicing appearing to humans-and it's scaring the shit out of me." I explained grumpily, picking up the stack of flash cards. "_Eres molestosa." _I told her, and she rolled her eyes. **(You are annoying.)**

"What are you doing?" Josh asked curiously, now that he'd gotten over his random adrenaline rush.

"I'm learning Spanish. The vampire I'm working with when you're at work only speaks Spanish, but he still wants to try, and so do I." I responded, shuffling the flashcards. Josh dumped his bag on the staircase, hung up his jacket, and came over as I started 'thinking with my hands' as Rebecca usually put it. Instead of thinking out loud, I moved my hands around in weird combinations that made sense to me but no one else. "_Comería esta noche."_ I tried out, then grinned to myself. **(I will eat tonight.) **Seconds later, my grin fell as I realized that probably wasn't the best thing to say to a vampire, especially one who was going on a diet.

"So, did you ask out Nora yet?" Sally suddenly asked Josh, who spluttered and turned pink.

"What? I don't know what you're talking about." Josh said quickly, crossing his arms.

"A _girl?"_ I asked curiously, and Sally smirked at Josh and waggled her eyebrows. Josh flushed darker, and he started restacking my flashcards with an OCD like feel, doing it alphabetically. "_Dime, dime! ¿Te encanta una mujer?"_ I pressed, then giggled, slapping a high five with Sally. **(Tell me, tell me! You're in love with a woman?) **

"I—I'm…interested in someone." Josh stammered, looking with increasing intensity at a flashcard. "But—I mean, come on, how could I ever-" He nearly upended the coffee table as he suddenly stood up, my flashcards sliding back all over the floor. At first, I thought that Sally and I had seriously upset him, but then I saw how scared he looked. Seconds later, he _sniffed_ the air, and I felt a tingle go up my back.

"What's wrong?" Sally asked, disappearing from my sight again.

"There's- there's a vampire outside-" Josh breathed, but cut himself off when the doorbell rang. "Ok, guys, come on, let's just go call Aidan, and-" he whispered fiercely, giving me a hand up, but stopped talking and winced when the doorbell rang again.

"They can't come in unless invited, right?" I asked at normal volume, and Josh winced again but nodded frantically. "Right," I muttered, and started for the door.

"_What are you doing?"_ Josh hissed, grabbing my arm.

"Go call! I'll answer the door. It's not like they could hurt me anyway," I pointed out, and Josh winced again, as if I'd hit him. I pulled free, jumped to the door and undid the lock, pulling it open. The Bishop himself was standing on our doorstep, not in his usual police uniform, but in an expensive looking suit. He had raised a fist to knock, but dropped it, seeing my face, and he smirked. "Can I help you, Bishop?" I asked, leaning against the doorframe casually, but my voice was like ice. Silently, he reached into his dress coat's pocket and withdrew a picture of all things. He handed it to me. Distrustful, as always, I jumped it from his fingers and into my hand. Bishop wiggled his fingers, apparently interested in the feeling as I lifted the photo and gasped. It was a picture of Roberto, my client. His head was completely severed from his body- one of the only ways to kill a vampire. Written across his chest was: _la muerte antes de el deshonor. _

"Are you ok?" Josh asked nervously, yet putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder as he came up behind me.

"I warned you to stay away from my recruits, Miss McCann. Obviously, neither you nor Roberto understood that." Bishop said smoothly as I crumpled the picture in my fist, rage building in me.

" 'Death before dishonor', Bishop? I wasn't aware that Roberto was unloyal." I hissed, and Bishop put his hands behind his back in a 'gentlemanly' fashion, but his eyes flashed. "Just because he wasn't going to murder humans doesn't mean that he wasn't loyal to you. Haven't you realized that if your little posse could control themselves you'd get more done?" I went to take a step forward, but Josh tightened his grip, holding me still. His hand was trembling.

"Let this be a warning to you. Any other recruits you steal will be killed. You can't convert them if they're dead." Bishop said in a hard voice, then his eyes flicked back to Josh and he started to smirk again. "This is one of them, I take it? You train dogs to 'sit, stay and roll over?'"

"You touch Josh or any more of my clients again and I will personally drive a stake through your heart," I growled, going to step forward again, but Josh pulled me back until I had to step off the threshold.

"Problems, Bishop?" Aidan asked coolly, appearing behind him on the street, Rebecca on his arm. Their eyes were black.

"I've just cleared them up, actually. I'll be seeing you around the hospital. Rebecca," He was speaking with false bravado until he greeted Rebecca. He almost growled her name before turning and walking down the stairs and disappearing.

"Come on, come on, _come on-_" Josh repeated nervously, his voice getting higher and higher, pulling me the rest of the way inside, keeping a light hand on my shoulder as if he expected me to jump after Bishop.

"What did he want?" Rebecca demanded, glowering at the door as Aidan closed it, locking it again.

"Here," I said through clenched teeth, uncurling my fist with effort and handing her the photo. She smoothed it out, her face hardening over as she looked at it. Aidan looked over her shoulder and a muscle started twitching in his jaw. "_Fuck!"_ I yelled, and kicked the armchair as Aidan silently passed the photo to Josh, who had leapt away from me in fright as I swore. "This is all my fault," I said sharply, shaking my head, starting to pace.

"That's not true, Emma," Rebecca said quietly, but I didn't pay attention, ripping out my ponytail and shaking my head harder to get my hair straight again.

"_Damn it!"_ I yelled again, throwing my ponytail across the room. When Aidan twitched, as if to stop me, I sat down heavily, combing my hair back off my forehead with one hand in frustration.

"Roberto knew the risks, Emma," Aidan said.

"Did he, Aidan? I honestly couldn't tell you, considering the man only spoke _Spanish." _I said harshly, standing up. I was furiously angry with myself and the Bishop. I'd thought that the Bishop had just wanted to assure his dominance over Boston; I'd had no trouble with that. But if he was seriously going to kill anyone who tried to rebuild their lives, I'd have a problem with that. It was truly my fault that Roberto died. The fact that I'd made a mistake that had pernicious results disgusted me; it made me sick. All I wanted to do was find Bishop and cut off his head; cause him pain. But I at least owed Roberto a dignified burial or at least a monument to him. I'd have to go back to his safe house to see is he was there.

"Emma, calm down," Rebecca said, seeing my knees start to shake.

"Don't you get it?" I shouted, my hands clenching into fists. "He was killed because of _me. _Because of what _I _asked him to do! That's called _murder, _Rebecca, _murder!_"

"Emma, Emma _no!"_ Rebecca shouted, starting for me then running as I turned on the spot to jump. I could see her just starting to react before the whole room disappeared. Seconds later, I skidded to a stop in the middle of what looked like a brothel, but I knew better. Stalking over to the one door visible on the street, I noticed that all of the seven electronic locks on the pure iron door had been broken, and the door was hanging inward, the opposite direction that it usually opened. Anger renewing, I kicked the door aside and pulled the single chain attached to the light bulb. The room was deadly silent. Lying in the middle was Roberto's remains. The rest of the furniture was torn to shreds and scattered around his body, the larger chunks all in a pile. Holding my breath as to not cry, I slowly approached Roberto, my anger dissipating at the sight of his body. He hadn't had a family, he was an illegal after all, but it didn't make his death any better.

"You didn't have to come all the way down here, girl," A voice growled, and I nearly leapt out of my skin as I whirled around. The huge hulking figure of Ray appeared from behind the large chunks of furniture, leering.

"Did you help, or did you just watch?" I spat, taking a few steps back.

"I watched, girl." He laughed throatily, and took a few more steps forward, until we were both on either side of Roberto.

"Hmm, Bishop must have you on a short leash, Ray," I shot back, and he slashed out at me, but I'd already jumped to the doorway. An ugly look crossed his face.

"You have a weakness. Bishop's gonna find it, and when he does- I'll be there." Ray promised, not bothering to run after me, knowing that he had no chance. "Maybe it's Josh." He said nonchalantly, but his eyes were boring into me. I opened my mouth, then closed it. _Why did the Bishop think Josh was my weakness?_ Ray laughed, causally stepping over Roberto. "You like a wolf, girl? Cause there's more than one werewolf in Boston." His comment ignited my fury again, and I jumped him into the ceiling, then pinned him to the floor, striding over and putting a foot down as hard as I could on his windpipe, making him squeak.

"If you even _try_ to hurt Josh, Aidan, or even Rebecca- you won't survive the attempt." I threatened as Ray jerked and gasped under my foot as he started to run out of oxygen. "Leave us _alone."_ I removed my foot and backed off, letting him cough and wheeze, sitting up. He suddenly started digging in his pocket furiously, and a key ring fell out of his pocket. On it, its affects muffled from his thick jacket, was a magnet, keeping four keys together. Suddenly, my feet froze to the ground, and all of my nerves started to tingle with pain, paralyzing me, making me gasp sharply. When my eyes focused, I realized that Ray was pointing a gun at me, leering. He thought that I was afraid of the gun- but I was more afraid that I couldn't jump. I couldn't get away, and my body was starting to ache more and more, my mind was burning-

"This is for the Bishop, and for Josh's wolf." Ray panted, laughing weakly, raising the gun. He squinted, taking aim as I let out a strangled yell, ripping my feet off the ground and going to jump. Something red hot grazed across my arm as the world vanished. Off target, I ended up on the roof of the house, dislodging the AC unit as I fell from about ten feet up. My left bicep was _burning._ Too sore and disoriented to get up, I let my head fall back, gritting my teeth, trying to think straight. _Why_ couldn't I remember what'd just happened? Had I run into a magnet? Panting through my teeth, I turned my head to look at my arm. A short line had been scooped out of my skin, and it was bleeding all down my side. I had no idea how it'd gotten there.

"_EMMA?" _I heard Aidan shout from two stories down, and I could've laughed if I wasn't panicking over how I'd suddenly lost some of my memory. Of course the vampires could smell me on the roof.

"Emma? Whoa," Sally was suddenly saying, but I couldn't see her. Suddenly, she appeared, crouching next to me and looking worried. "What the hell happened to you?" She asked, gently touching my left bicep.

"_HEY, SALLY! TELL US WHAT'S GOING ON!" _I heard Josh shouting. "_AS IN, __**WHY**__ SHE'S BLEEDING?"_

"Hold on!" Sally shouted back, annoyed. "Okay, can you jump or do I have to do it for you?" She asked me.

"I can do it," I gasped, pushing myself up with my good arm, then staggering to my feet and resting on the AC. "Just give me a sec." After panting for a few seconds, I gritted my teeth and jumped. Seconds later, I was falling on top of Josh from about six feet of the ground. After a second of untangling our legs, I pulled free, keeping my hand cupped around the cut.

"Here now, that's right," Rebecca encouraged, helping me up. "Why, _why _did you go after Bishop? Are you crazy?" She asked half worried, half mad as she pulled my hand off and looked at the cut.

"I don't remember." I said quietly, and her hand slipped off my arm.

"A magnet? Do you remember if they used it as the primary weapon?" She asked urgently, bending her knees to look clearly into my face. I just shook my head. "God, why did you have to go and do that, Emma?" She groaned in frustration.

"Magnets make me forget things, remember?" I prompted Josh, Aidan and Sally (who was somewhere) as they only looked on in confusion.

"Let's just get you inside. _Don't_ jump again," Aidan warned, holding the door for us as Rebecca ushered me inside. "Now, let's take a look at this," he muttered, almost to himself, as I sat down. He carefully pulled off my torn sleeve, Josh hovering nervously behind him. After looking closely at the cut, he gave it a gentle sniff and pulled a face, sitting back. "It's a gunshot," he said quietly. "It just nicked you. You're lucky to be alive. Six inches over and it'd be right through your heart."


	7. One Bored Afternoon

_Jumper_

**Aidan and Rebecca insist that Josh and Emma lie low for awhile after Emma finally gets her memory back. It wouldn't be so bad if Josh wasn't acting so **_**weird…**_

_One Bored Afternoon_

With a sigh, I leaned low over the back of the couch on my stomach until it was completely supporting me. Feeling like a bored, wet noodle, I relaxed completely, inhaling the slightly musty smell of their couch. "'M bored," I groaned into the plush.

"I should be at work," Josh stressed, leaping up and starting to pace again. He was on a cycle of sulking, panicking and pacing; then it would start all over again.

"Would both of you _shut up?"_ Rebecca yelled from the kitchen. She and Aidan had decided that neither Josh nor I should go out after I'd finally remembered two days later that it had been Ray who'd mentioned Josh and tried to kill me. Both of us thought their protective measures were ridiculous, but you really couldn't argue with vampires, especially when Rebecca threatened to handcuff me to Josh to make me stay. Rebecca knew that I wouldn't force him to jump with me somewhere if I wanted to escape; I was too nice. She still hadn't ruled it out either, and that was the only reason I was still here. I had to ask Rebecca for permission to do _anything._ I had to ask her if I could use the _bathroom. _She really wasn't enjoying playing babysitter either, but at least she was in control.

"Goddamn it," I mumbled into the upholstery.

"Now you guys know what it's like to be a ghost. Kind of," Sally said from the stairs. She found our suffering amusing, something that really didn't surprise me.

"I'm so _booorreeedddd,"_ I groaned again, hoping to irritate Rebecca enough so that she'd whine to Aidan. Aidan was a pushover when it came to Rebecca, and Josh and I would be free to go back to our lives. Unfortunately, I pissed off the wrong person.

"Like you have it so rough! I'm supposed to be at _work_, being _productive!_" Josh whined, flopping onto the armchair, rubbing his forehead. I snorted, the sound half muffled by the upholstery. "I never should have started your lessons," He sighed, and my head shot up. Josh was glaring moodily at the floor.

"Hey! You've made a lot of improvement, don't go blaming my lessons!" I exclaimed, getting up and walking over to him, pointing a finger accusingly at him.

"It's true, though! You brought all the trouble, not me!" Josh said defensively, then hastily opened his mouth, seeing that he'd crossed a line. Before I could yell at him and he could apologize, I felt a cold breeze wash over us that let me know Rebecca had just passed us super fast. Seconds later, I registered that something cold and metallic was around my wrist.

"_Rebecca!"_ I shouted at the ceiling as Josh leapt to his feet, realizing about two seconds later that he'd been handcuffed to me. "Take this off _now!"_ I yelled, but she only laughed, the sound clearly coming down from the second story. "I'll jump!" I threatened, and Josh looked scared out of his mind.

"No you won't!" She yelled down the stairs. I wavered for a second, but the look on Josh's face made me give in.

"Great, just flippin' great." I huffed, giving my wrist a little shake, the chain clinking slightly. Of course, she'd handcuffed my 'good' hand, considering the cut on my left arm made doing things a tad difficult. It was hard to raise that arm to reach things.

"What if-what if I have to pee?" Josh whispered, looking mortified, and Rebecca roared with laughter from upstairs.

"_That is __**not**__ funny!"_ I bellowed at the ceiling, moving to stalk up there and give her a piece of my mind, but was jerked back when Josh didn't move. Fuming, I plopped down next to Josh's chair and closed my eyes, making him sit too. I was smarter than this. Who cared if Josh came with me if I, say, jumped to someone shed so that we could use and axe to freaking _cut off_ these damn handcuffs? It's not like he'd have a say in it…

"Have you ever been in love?" Sally asked, jerking me out of my daze. I cracked an eye open to see her watching me expectantly. Josh groaned and hid his face in his free hand. Poor guy.

"How is that at all relevant?" I murmured, closing my eye again. I was good at meditation; I could just meditate away the afternoon until Josh needed something.

"It's not. Answer the question." Sally said irritably, and I shifted my arm onto the armrest of Josh's chair so that his arm wasn't hanging off at an uncomfortable angle. Our wrists brushed for a second and he jerked back as if I had the plague.

"Yeah, so what?" I shot back, leaning my head against the side of the chair. I almost heard Josh stiffen, the man was _that _awkward.

"Ooooo, details, details," Sally pressed, tousling my hair when I didn't immediately respond. She knew that I hated it when she did that, considering I usually couldn't see her reaching out to do it.

"His name was Carson. He was my boyfriend a few years ago." I said reluctantly, and Sally squealed.

"How old were you?" She pressed, and I sighed, opening my eyes. Meditating was definitely out. Sally leaned forward, and I could just picture her with a pad of paper and a pencil, poised to take notes. Ever since her relationship with Danny went into the toilet, she was fiercely interested in everyone else's, something I could understand, but it was no less annoying.

"Eighteen. I met him in South Africa after the exploding kittens incident, actually." I said, and chuckled weakly, wincing as I raised my left arm to put my hair back to normal; Sally's tousle had left it hanging in my eyes. "He was seventeen," I supplied before Sally could ask.

"What happened, what happened?" Sally demanded, nearly bouncing on the spot in agitation.

"Things didn't work out, alright?" I sighed, hoping that she'd just drop it, but this was Sally we were talking about here.

"Spill. Now." She demanded, even when Josh shifted uncomfortably. I glanced up at him. He had managed to turn most of his body away, looking indifferently out the front window, but he was incredibly stiff, as if he was on edge. It was the weirdest I'd ever seen him act, and that was saying something. He hadn't even complained about being handcuffed to me, something I'd been counting on. When he got mad, he got _mad. _

"He invited me over for dinner, and I tripped over one of his cats and fell onto his fridge." I recalled to the best of my ability, feeling my forehead crease as I tried to remember more clearly. "His fridge was covered in magnets," I supplied, seeing Sally's confusion. "When I came around, I didn't remember where I was or who _he_ was for that matter. I freaked and ran out on him. Less than half an hour later I'd jumped to Peru."

"You were too young anyway." Josh said, and for a second, I barely realized what he'd said.

"Wow, insensitive much, Josh?" Sally snapped, crossing her arms.

"Well, I mean, come _on!_" Josh spluttered pleadingly, seeing my war-like expression.

"It didn't work out, so I guess you've got nothing to worry about. Yeah, I was the freak and he was normal; that's why it didn't work. Is _that_ what you were getting at?" I demanded, and he flushed; I'd hit the mark perfectly.

"It's happened to me before, I just thought-never mind." Josh said quietly before shutting himself up and looking at his lap. Even though I was still kind of pissed for what he'd blurted out, he'd stirred up my curiosity. Josh had been in _love?_ For awhile, we sat in silence, contemplating what the other had said, before I jumped a bottle of whey from the kitchen and started to try to open it with one hand without much success. Fuming, I started to try to bite the tab off.

"Can't you just jump it open?" Sally asked, and I paused in mid bite, pondering what she'd suggested.

"I never thought about it like that before. I'd have to be spot on and precise about it." I said slowly, setting the can down and staring at it. Focusing on the tab, I felt my eyes narrow as I outlined it in my brain. I wanted to move it up and towards me by fractions of a degree until it popped open, something I'd never tried before. Slowly, the tab started to vanish, then reappear in what looked like the same place. Finally, after five minutes, the tab popped open. "_Yes! _Freaks rule!" I crowed, picking up the can and taking a swig.

"You know, I guess Josh or I could've just opened it for you." Sally pointed out, and I rolled my eyes then shifted slightly; I was getting uncomfortable on the floor, but there was no way that my arm could reach Josh's all the way on the floor if we were to switch spots.

"What does that stuff even taste like?" Josh asked, and after some manipulating, I passed it up to him.

"Go on, take a swig," I encouraged, and, cautiously, Josh did. Seconds later, he pulled a face and swallowed repeatedly, eyes bulging out. "I'll interpret that towards the fact that you _don't_ like it," I said, taking it as he passed it back. Our fingers brushed and he jerked again, sending the can flipping and spilling whey all over the carpet and my head. "Ugh, really?" I groaned as Sally laughed hysterically, wincing as I moved my arm up again to comb my now sopping hair out of my eyes. "What was that for?" I asked curiously, seeing Josh flushing a dark, beet red.

"Nothing," He muttered, flushing darker, if that was possible.

"You're such a dork," I said affectionately, shaking my head like a dog to try to disperse some of the whey. "Hey, _Rebecca!_ Can I _please_ be detached from Josh so I can go shower off this whey?" I called, and waited impatiently for her to answer.

"I don't really trust you on that one, Emma. Sorry," Rebecca called, and I growled some very nasty words half heartedly under my breath. This was ridiculous. Rebecca would pay for this.

"I'm sorry for spilling it," Josh offered hopefully, seeing my angry face. He reached down easily and picked up the can, setting it right side up so that the rest of its measly contents didn't continue to drip on the floor. As I watched him move the can, it suddenly clicked.

"Oh god, I'm such an idiot. Josh, hold still." I ordered, and he looked scared as I stood up then crouched by the armrest, looking at my wrist trapped in the steel.

"What are you doing?" Sally and Josh asked at the same time. I ignored them both and focused on my wrist, tracing the outline of it with my mind. If I could do the same with my can of whey, why couldn't I do it with my own body? My wrist started to disappear and Josh sucked in a breath, apparently feeling the tingling sensation that I was.

"Escaping isn't allowed, Emma," Rebecca ordered as she started down the stairs with a stack of books. "But I have to admit, I give you points for creativity."

"You suck," I groaned, sitting on the arm of the chair with a sigh. She raised her eyebrows, about to point out my unintentional pun, but Josh sent her such a look of annoyance that she just grinned, going back to her book.

"Hey, when Aidan comes home, you two can separate. Until then, you stick together. You've only got about…three hours left, so _relax!_" Rebecca said, cracking open a book, grinning evilly as I threw her a look of pure hatred. When she wanted to be, Rebecca was absolutely heartless. It was one of those good/bad things.

"Ok, budge up," I sighed, stretching around the big chair and plopping down next to Josh. He shifted as far away as possible, which left me just enough room. It was a heck of a lot more comfortable then the floor.

"You _reek._" He commented, and I threw him a look, which was difficult, considering I had to look _up_ to actually see his face.

"Thanks to…whom?" I said pointedly, and let myself sink deeper into the chair with a sigh.

"I still think this is your fault." Josh whined slightly, shaking his trapped hand.

"Mmhmm," I said dispassionately in assent, and jumped another shake from the kitchen, making Rebecca glare at me. "I have to _eat._" I grumbled, and she slowly raised her book again.

"Let me get that for ya," Sally said, and, seconds later, the can exploded.

"Jesus _Christ!"_ I yelled, covering my face with my good arm as whey splattered all over me (again) and Josh, who simply yelped, tucking his chin. "What was that for?" I demanded, but Sally just rolled on the ground laughing until she started to cry from mirth.

"I said that you shouldn't have taught Sally that, but no one listened to me," Josh grumbled, mopping his now sopping hair out of his eyes.

"And that was the last damn one. Perfect." I said angrily. Sally disappeared from my sight then after she couldn't take my glare. An hour later, my hands were starting to tremble, and I was bored and exhausted. "Don't mind me," I mumbled, turning sideways and curling in on myself, almost around Josh's shoulder, and laid my head against it, closing my eyes. If I couldn't eat, I usually slept off my shakiness to conserve energy. I hadn't eaten and was damn tired because of it. Usually, I'd just steal something, but I was trying to stop doing so. Rebecca looked up, disappointed for a second, thinking that she'd have to let me go so I could _eat_, but then went back to her book as I closed my eyes, ready for a nap.

"You can, um, stretch out, if you want to." Josh offered a few minutes later. He sounded surprisingly relaxed, or maybe it was because I was so tired.

"Don't mind if I do," I murmured sleepily, and after some maneuvering, was sitting on his lap, using his chest as a pillow. The steady beat of his heart pounded softly on my eardrum as I closed my eyes again, lying my other, shaking free hand against his chest too, trying to stop the tremors. A few minutes later, helped along by how freaking _warm_ Josh was, I fell asleep.

**oOoOoOo**

"Hey, Emma. Wake up. Emma. _Emma." _A voice was calling, sounding amused.

"_What?"_ I moaned, burying my head deeper into my pillow. I was warm, very comfortable, and wanted to sleep forever.

"Ok, keep the handcuffs on then," Rebecca said, and after a second, it all clicked. Cautiously, I opened my eyes and pulled slightly away from my 'pillow'. Looking up, expecting the worst, I saw that Josh was actually asleep. He'd wormed his arm out from underneath me and wrapped it around me, something that surprised me. Usually Josh freaked out whenever anyone touched him (assuming you all remember the whey can). He actually looked peaceful and…_happy._ Even though both of us reeked of whey, we'd curled up on a chair and slept together. In sleep, our handcuffed hands had intertwined; his hand a lot larger than mine.

"How long?" I whispered, as to not wake up Josh, slowly untangling our handcuffed hands.

"Two hours. Aidan's home by the way," Rebecca said, trying to keep the smirk off of her face as she undid the handcuffs.

"You are evil," I said, glaring at her, and she grinned, sticking the handcuffs in her pocket. "And if you and Aidan have used those then I will definitely hate you forever." I added, a nasty thought popping into my head. Worse yet, Rebecca flushed, and I heard something fall upstairs. "Oh God, never, _ever_ mention this again." I demanded, slowly starting to try to wiggle out of Josh's hold. He murmured something in his sleep and held me tighter to his chest. "Shut up," I whispered fiercely as Rebecca got her smirk back.

"You guys are really cute," Sally said, slowly materializing next to Rebecca, grinning. Trying to ignore them both, I gave Josh's chest a little shake.

"Josh," I called, giving him another shake. "_Josh!"_ I raised my voice when he only stirred. His head shot up suddenly and hit me in the forehead with a loud _crack._

"Whozair? What?" Josh mumbled, then quickly tightened his grip as the momentum from him hitting my head nearly made me tumble off his lap. "Oh. Hi." He muttered, looking down at me, his face full of confusion and sleepiness.

"Hi." I said, then rubbed my aching forehead, clambering off of Josh's lap and nearly hitting the floor; I was _hungry._ Seconds later, I was chugging a protein shake with a shaking hand, sitting on the coffee table. "You can go shower if you want," I suggested to Josh, who was still sitting in the armchair looking dumbstruck about something. He'd been glancing at me every few minutes and twisting his hands nervously in his lap.

"Shower. Right. Shower," He muttered distractedly, getting up and walking unsteadily towards the bathroom.


	8. King of Pain

_Jumper_

**The Bishop has some things to figure out, while Josh already understands what his problem has been.**

_King of Pain_

"I asked so little of you, Ray," I said dangerously, stalking around the tiny room. It smelt terrible; Roberto's body was still decaying in the middle of the floor. "All you had to do was wait for McCann and then kill her."

"It's not like she was holdin' still. I still shot 'er, Bishop." Ray said defensively, still sitting exactly where he'd been when McCann disappeared. I was still trying to piece together what the hell had happened here. About a foot from the doorway, imbedded in the wall, was one bullet, and I could smell her blood all over it. But if Ray had shot her, why wasn't she dead? If she had been, Aidan would've let me know about it. Frustrated, I walked around the room again. Why hadn't she just left when Ray pulled out the gun?

"Tell me what happened." I demanded.

"I already told ye' what happened-" Ray started.

"_Tell me again._" I snarled, feeling my eyes swirl to black. I wanted this girl dead- and the fact that she wasn't already irked me. Usually, if I wanted someone dead, they'd be dead within a day.

"Alright, alright!" Ray snapped, and pointed to the pile of large, broken furniture. "I was hidin' behind all that junk, waitin'. Then she comes in, all angry n' such. When she sees the body on the floor, she cools off. Then I came out and she starts askin' me all these questions." Ray explained, and I had to resist the urge to snap his neck. He'd had his advantages, but now he was annoying. As soon as the deed was done, I'd kill him myself. "She really pisses me off, so I take a swing at er'." Ray continued, and I nearly throttled him right there. _What an idiot!_ "O' course she's already half way across the room, lookin' too smug. Then she starts beatin' me up, getting' real mad again." I started to pace again only so that he wouldn't see me starting to grin. The mental image of Ray getting his ass kicked was almost worth listening to him retell it. "When she backed off, I dug out the gun and she freaks out, ya know, so I point it at er', linin' up my shot-" As he talked, I looked around the room and noticed Ray's keys were on the floor, lying right next to him. Another wave of irritation crashed over me.

"When did you drop your keys? Or did you even notice?" I asked sharply, regretting giving them to him. Those keys unlocked very important places, but I needed him to be able to get into those places. He didn't trust vampires, so I'd finally agreed to giving him his own set. Ray was far too incompetent, and he was no longer useful, if he was so careless as to leave them lying around.

"When I was diggin' out the gun, when she freaked out." Ray said impatiently. As he went to go on, I raised a hand, feeling a jolt of excitement. I always got my way because of my attention to detail, from analyzing everything that happened, moment by moment. This tiny, seemingly insignificant detail might have all the answers.

"Did she stiffen before or after your keys fell?" I asked, walking over and nudging them with my toe. There were a lot of keys on there, and the four most important ones were magnetized together. Other than that, they were ordinary.

"After, while I was still getting' the gun out. Chit finally realized what she was messin' with." Ray grinned, but I didn't smile. Instead, I scooped up the keys, prying apart the four stuck together and then letting them stick back to each other.

"She wouldn't have been afraid of the gun, Ray," I said quietly, still examining his keys. The gun hadn't even been in her sight when she'd stiffened. The only thing happening had been Ray's keys falling. _Why_ had that scared her?

"You don't know that," Ray argued, and I threw him such a look that he shut up. Idiot werewolf, thinking he could argue with a vampire. I was annoyed enough to kill him now, but if his keys hadn't fallen, I might not have found out more about McCann. He deserved to live for a little while longer. Maybe.

"You can go." I dismissed him, and he got up, shot me a dark look, then slouched out. Thinking hard, I leaned against a broken desk and examined Ray's keys. There were no fancy key-chains or markings on the keys. It was just a set of keys. _What_ about them scared her? No one was afraid of keys, and yet Ray had said that she had even looked like she was in pain; she'd cried out before disappearing, as if it'd hurt. Irritated, I gave the keys a shake, hoping to notice something about them as they jingled together. Only one fact stood out- he had four keys magnetized together. "Could it really be that simple?" I asked myself, taking the four in my hand again, running my thumb over the ridges. Magnets signified nothing to anyone, and yet, maybe I was wrong…

**oOoOoOo**

Left with no other choice, I called my creator. She was a short tempered woman with more power than me, which made me wary. "You're calling me, Bishop?" She answered the phone, her strong French accent marred with irritation. I made myself count to ten. One wrong word to her and I was dead.

"I must, for I crave guidance." I said, and there was a pause.

"Ask then," She said, sounding a bit interested. I never asked her for help, not ever. I hated the fact that I even had to ask.

"Have you heard of a jumper?" I asked her, digging out the girl's card and glaring at it. After a moment, she started to laugh, making me grit my teeth.

"What have you gotten yourself into this time, Bishop? Êtes-vous en difficulté?" She asked, sounding amused. **(Are you in trouble?)**

"I need to know their weaknesses. It's a matter of great importance." I responded in a forced calm. She paused, as if pondering if she even wanted to tell me.

"Advanced jumpers can heal themselves at a faster pace. Most weapons are useless against them; ce qui les rend forts." She started, and I nearly threw the phone. **(this makes them strong)** I didn't want a lecture, and I didn't want to be reminded of how McCann was better than me. I wanted her dead. "Their one and only weakness are magnets. The stronger and larger, the better."

"Thank you," I said grudgingly, even though a smile was stretching across my face. Observing every detail had paid off.

"Respect, Bishop? From you? I'm shocked." She said, making no effort to hide her curiosity this time.

"It won't be long now before Boston is mine." I promised, and she chuckled.

"Don't be too sure, Bishop. You obviously didn't plan for this jumper problem of yours." She hung up before I could completely lose my temper. Even though her comment stung, I was still grinning. Emma McCann was going to die a slow, painful death. Maybe I'd even play with her a little. All I had to do was keep Aidan and Rebecca out of the way…

**oOoOoOo**

"Therefore, if either of you try anything like this ever, _ever_ again, I will leave you stranded in Siberia. You can find a wooly mammoth to feed off of." After sitting Rebecca and Aidan down, I ranted to them for about ten minutes about why if they insisted on keeping Josh and I 'protected' ever again I'd completely disown them. Josh had thrown in a few 'yeahs' here and there, and nodded furiously and vigorously, but other than that he'd let me do the talking. I'd also added in how stupid Rebecca had been for not letting me eat.

"Are you done?" Rebecca asked, crossing her arms.

"I can go on for longer, if you make me." I threatened, putting my hands on my hips. We eyed each other up for a moment. She knew that I could bug her for the next month if I was really pissed, which I _was._

"Fine! Fine. Josh can go back to work tomorrow, and I promise to never ever do that to you ever again." Rebecca said after seeing Aidan give her a look that said, _just let it go._

"Excellent! Now that that's all cleared up, I'm going to shower." I said, clapping my hands together cheerfully. Just to enforce my point, I jumped to the bathroom, flicking the lights on at the same time. The room was still warm from Josh's shower, and knowing him, there was still hot water left. Wasting no time, I simply jumped out of my clothes and into the shower. Practicing a more precise jump, I turned on the water without touching it, and adjusted it until it was just right. Then, with a sigh, I started washing all of the whey out of my hair. As I scrubbed, my thoughts turned to Josh. He'd acted weirder today than usual, which made me wonder if something was wrong. The full moon was a week away, but he never freaked out until the day of. And what was with him letting me sleep _in his lap_ and then him falling asleep too? He never slept during the day, not _ever. _It was really strange, and I wondered if I had something to do with it. Once all the whey smell was out of me, I jumped myself into a towel and jumped some of my clothes into the bathroom. After getting my undergarments on, I pulled on my shirt right as someone knocked on the door.

"Uh, yeah?" I asked, caught off guard.

"Can I talk to you?" Josh's voice called from the other side of the door, sounding very meek. Surprised, I didn't move for half a second. Then, I snatched my towel and fashioned myself a skirt before opening the door. Josh stumbled back a step, astonished that I'd even opened the door.

"What's up?" I asked, gathering my hair to one side, wishing I'd wrung it out before answering him. Water was dripping onto my shirt and down my back.

"Uh, um, I just wanted to apologize for what I said to you. It was wrong. I'm sorry that you lost Carson." He said sincerely, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking at the floor.

"Oh. Thanks," I stuttered, biting my lip. It was weird talking about relationships with Josh, but if I thought _that_ was weird, what happened next blew my mind. Josh suddenly lunged forward, taking my head gently in his hands and kissing me in earnest, even when we stumbled backwards into the sink vanity. For the first few seconds, I did nothing, my mind blank with shock. I couldn't even process that one, I was being kissed, and two, that _Josh_, the most awkward of us all was doing it. Then, I _liked _it. Josh was earnest, yet gentle, his thumb caressing my cheek. Before I could realize what I was doing, I reached around and held his head closer, kissing him back. His hair was soft and still slightly damp from his shower. As I lifted a leg to run it along the back of his calf, my towel fell off. Wasting no time, Josh easily lifted me and set me on the sink. Standing inbetween my legs, he started to kiss me harder, with more need, more demand. Finally, when I thought my lungs were going to burst, he pulled away and started kissing my neck, tilting my chin up so he could kiss my jaw. "Josh," I panted, moving my hands to his shoulders. He let out what sounded like a low, rumbling purr and put a hand on my thigh, kissing the base of my throat. His wolf was almost out. "_Josh._" I said firmly, putting some pressure on his shoulders. Blinking, he pulled away, slightly flushed, and looked at me almost in surprise, as his thoughts caught up with his actions.

"I'm sorry," He blurted out before I could ask him why he'd just kissed me. "But- I had to. You're just- you're so- you're perfect. I was scared of you, but you've changed me. You're amazing. I think I love you." He pleaded with me, looking dazed yet slightly hopeful.

"It's ok," I said, slightly breathless. I hadn't kissed anyone (never mind been kissed by anyone) in a long time. I couldn't lie- I liked it. I liked it a lot. It wasn't just that I was being kissed and loved; it was that I was being kissed and loved by Josh, the cutest, nerdiest, dork on the planet, who was so sweet and caring that it was surprising. "Josh…I'm ok with it." I barely heard myself say before Josh swooped back in for another kiss. Throwing away my common sense and rules about dating clients, I kissed him back, not even caring when his inner wolf simmered back to the surface, turning our kiss into a French kiss.

"_Whoa!"_ Sally shouted, appearing in the doorway. Both Josh and I ignored her as she squeaked something unintelligible and disappeared again. Josh leaned forward, making me lean back. Taking advantage, he kissed all the way down my chest and then went back to my mouth, worming a hand up my shirt.

"Could you guys—not?" Aidan asked awkwardly, appearing in the doorway.

"Handcuffs," I reminded him in a shaky pant, and he quickly left, closing the door. For approximately the next half and hour, Josh and I made out on the bathroom sink until my hands started to shake. A gentleman, as always, Josh pulled back, noticing instantly.

"Are you ok?" He asked, his voice lower and huskier than usual. Both of us were panting, slightly damp and hot, but far too pleased with ourselves. I'd have kept kissing him if I hadn't needed to eat again.

"I need to eat," I sighed, and he lifted me off the sink, then started to blush as he handed me my pants. He hastily hung up my long forgotten towel as I pulled them on. As Josh started to come back to himself, he got more and more awkward. It was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. "Come on," I insisted, taking his hand and pulling him out of the bathroom. The temperature difference was huge, and cleared my head as I pulled him to the kitchen and jumped a shake out of the fridge. "Shall we?" I asked pointedly, sitting at the kitchen table and undoing the tab of the shake. Josh slowly sat, his hands starting to twist nervously again. "Josh, you can save the speech about how dangerous and stupid this is, because I've already considered it." I said as he got more and more uncomfortable.

"But-I-I'm a _werewolf,_ Emma." He sounded so upset as he said it that I had to crack a joke.

"Funny, I didn't notice that these past few months." I said, and Josh looked at me in half irritation, half amusement. "Josh, my number one rule was to never date clients. It's part of the business to remain…detached. You aren't dangerous every other day of the month, and I'm making sure that on the full moon you won't be dangerous anymore. You'll be fine." I insisted, and he looked at me with such a loving yet lost expression that my mind went blank for a few seconds. It was hard to think when you were looking at his Bambi-esque eyes.

"But, um- it was out. When I was kissing you, the wolf came out. I didn't even realize it." He protested weakly. I reached across the table and took his hand.

"That's _ok!_ It was perfect, your wolf was in a, well, happy environment. It likes me now. That helps a lot." I said strongly, and Josh finally broke a smile. "So much for wanting to be at work." I teased, then took a swig of my shake. Before he could respond, Sally walked in like a zombie.

"_I…have seen things…that cannot be unseen…"_ She groaned, screwing up her face in what was probably supposed to be a pained expression, but the fact that she was fighting down a smile ruined the whole effect. "Actually, Josh, I didn't think you had it in you." She snapped out of her act and pulled up a chair, sitting with us. Josh spluttered, looking indignant.

"I—I was perfectly capable. _Obviously._" He said, waggling his eyebrows at me, making me grin like a fool and waggle them back.

"UGH! Now you guys are going to be one of those nasty gooey lovey dovey couples. Gross!" Sally complained, sticking out her tongue.

"Absolutely not." Josh and I said together, then grinned at each other, pleased that we'd subconsciously agreed on something.

"Darn," Sally sighed, making me raise my eyebrows. "You two are the only thing powerful enough to scare away Aidan and Rebecca."

"Where are they, anyway?" Josh asked, getting up and peeking around the corner.

"Exactly," Sally said, sounding very pleased with herself.


	9. Revenge

_Jumper_

**Bishop is out to settle the score. **

_Revenge_

The next morning, I went down to the kitchen in my pajamas. Aidan and Rebecca were sitting at the table, sipping blood. Sally was sitting on the counter, gazing aimlessly out the window. And, my new favorite person in the whole wide world, Josh, had his head deep in the fridge, trying to find something. "Sleep, much?" Rebecca said, and Josh's head jerked up and cracked loudly against the inside of the fridge. He hastily backed out of the fridge, smiling sheepishly at me as he rubbed the back of his head. I couldn't help but grin at him.

"I was busy last night," I bluffed with a wink. Josh choked, only backing me up, and Rebecca made an 'icky' face and quickly buried her face behind her mug. "Speaking of being busy, Josh, you need to practice, the full moon is coming." I reminded him, leaning against the table. He hadn't had the time for practice lately because of…everything that was going on. I would've made him go yesterday if we hadn't, well, made out yesterday.

"Oh. Right, yeah." Josh said, blinking several times and flushing as he realized that he was staring at me again.

"Do you really think that you should go out alone?" Rebecca asked, and I threw her a look.

"Does the word 'handcuff' mean anything to you?" I asked, and she rolled her eyes as Josh, whose flush had just started to die from his face, blushed again.

"Hey, all I'm saying is that the Bishop is _pissed_ at you. You have to at least take a cell phone." She ordered, fishing around in her pocket and pulling hers out and handing it to me.

"And you have to call." Aidan advised as I rolled my eyes, taking the phone. If all of us in the house were a family, then Rebecca and Aidan were the parents. I knew Aidan was good with kids, but for goodness sake, I wasn't a _child. _Josh and I went our separate ways to get ready, and I was ready about twenty minutes before him. He didn't take that long, but since I did everything _instantly_, he seemed to take forever. As I was sitting on the couch, waiting, Sally appeared next to me, hugging her knees.

"Were you actually busy last night?" She asked, and I snorted, grinning.

"Nope," I added, watching her face fall (apparently Josh and I having sex made her…happy? That was creepy; I'd have to talk with her about that one later.) as I got up to meet Josh as he came down the stairs, buttoning up his shirt.

"Okay! Bye guys!" I called out as Josh took my hand, slipping his fingers between mine, without having to be asked. Seconds later, we were in the room. Almost instantly he pulled me close. He kissed me lightly on the jaw, then on the lips. As he pulled away, he suddenly frowned. "Josh?" I asked as his eyes widened. Milliseconds later, a cold breeze flew past us and Josh disappeared. I whirled around, but he wasn't there. Instead, Ray was standing there, grinning. Our eyes locked, and I took a step forward, feeling anger bubble up from nowhere. When laughter started up behind me, I whirled back around. Bishop was standing there, holding a gleaming silver knife inches from Josh's neck. Josh was panting- the silver in the knife was probably agonizing to him.

"I can't have you around anymore, Emma. You're bad for business." Bishop said coolly, pressing the knife closer when Josh tried to fight him off.

"Leave him alone, Bishop. He has nothing to do with this." I said, feeling my fists clench. If it was just the two of us, his head would already be four feet into the cement. But he had Josh. I didn't want to risk jumping either one of them out of the way. One nick from that silver knife and Josh was dead.

"True, but you two seem…intimately connected." Bishop smirked, pressing the knife to Josh's flesh. He let out a yell and jerked in Bishop's grip, making my heart leap into my throat.

"_Stop it!"_ I shouted, taking a step forward, feeling my eyes flash. All I needed was a millisecond where Josh was in the clear and Bishop was mine.

"Emma—just—go!" Josh choked out, and Bishop started chuckling again, giving Ray (who was still behind me) a nod, building a nasty feeling in my stomach. I felt my eyes widen as prickling pain shot up my spine, and Ray's footsteps pounded over.

"No, no. I'm afraid you'll have to stay-" I gasped sharply as Ray suddenly wrapped an arm around my torso, pressing a magnet to my neck with his other hand. It was a strong magnet; it made my eyes flutter and my body shake, instantly rooted to the spot. "a little longer." Bishop finished, sounding satisfied. He waited for me to say something back, but I was frozen, staring unfocusedly past him, filling with pain. "Get her on the table!" He barked out, losing his slick 'revenga' manner and Ray picked me up then slammed me down on a hard surface. I could barely hear a loud scuffle between Josh and the Bishop, and I could only hope that Bishop wasn't killing him.

"Didn't I tell you, girly? Didn't I tell you Bishop'd find yer' weak spot?" Ray chuckled in a low, deep voice, keeping the magnet hovering right above my heart. I was paralyzed; I couldn't move away from the burning pain. My chest was heaving, each breath seemed shorter and shorter-

"Now, let's settle our differences, shall we?" Bishop was suddenly purring by my ear, pressing a cold forceful hand on my hurt arm, making me choke. I could hear a rustle of cloth, and then a scream tore through my throat- he had a neodymium magnet, one of the strongest magnets in the entire world.

"_STOP IT! _LEAVE HER ALONE!" I heard Josh roaring over nothing but pure pain. It was barely worth the effort to scream and writhe—it was like my nerves were on fire; I was being pulled inside out and back again. My mind was screaming louder than I was, full of nothing but searing pain. Panic started to build as my mind started to feel empty-I had to have been dying. I couldn't even tell if time was passing, if I was close to the end…

**oOoOoOo**

Slowly, my eyes fluttered open. The air around me was cold, and my sore, aching body was on a plastic surface. The ceiling above me was stone. "Are you alright?" A voice asked worriedly, and I shot up with a gasp, whirling towards the noise. Standing next to the plastic table I was lying on was a man with golden, straw colored hair. His face was incredibly pale. He looked very worried. "Miss, it's alright. We're here to help you." He said gently, inching closer, extending a pale hand. "Are you hurt?" He asked seeing me wince and press a hand to my head. It was pounding with such force that sometimes it drowned out his words. He laid a hand on my shoulder, but I shook it off.

"Who are you?" My voice came out hoarse and raw. Ignoring the mingled look of surprise on his face, I glanced frantically around the room. I had no idea where I was, no idea who this man was…no idea who _I_ was. I gasped again as I realized that, racking my pounding brain, but nothing was coming up. Why was I here? What had happened? On another pass around the room, I noticed a larger, hulking man standing a few feet away, making me leap in fright.

"Do not be afraid, Miss, don't be afraid. He's with me. My name is Bishop. We rescued you. Don't you remember?" He asked, looking more worried now than ever.

"Don't listen, Emma!" A new voice called desperately, making me whip around. Directly behind us, held onto the wall with old metal bands that looked medical was a young man with large brown eyes, fighting fiercely. He was looking at me with such desperation that I paused, unable to look away from his eyes. Even when the large, hulking man went over and withdrew a gun, pointing it at him, I couldn't look away. The strange, frustrating feeling of déjà vu was stealing over me. The man was the only thing faintly familiar about this cold, barren room.

"Miss, do you know who you are?" Bishop asked patiently, and I felt tears well up in my eyes. I shook my head frantically, my vision blurring with tears. I had no idea who I was or where I was—and I was terrified. "Shhh, it's alright now. You're safe." Bishop's arms enveloped me, and I cried hard into his chest, shaking with fright, pain and exhaustion. "You're alright." He repeated, pulling back and gently rubbing his thumb along my cheekbone, clearing it of moisture. "Your name is Emma, honey. That man over there was hurting you when Ray and I got here. We're in a secret room underneath the hospital. Does any of this make sense? Do you know what you are?" He asked calmly, putting two reassuring hands on my shoulders.

"N-no, I don't remember anything." I whispered, clinging to Bishop's hand, trembling. "Please, help me, Bishop, p-please." An odd look crossed his face, but he sat up on the table with me, putting an arm around my shoulders. I huddled into his side and he slightly tightened his grip protectively when I sniffled.

"Emma, you're what's called a Jumper." Bishop started quietly. "You can move yourself, other people, and objects anywhere instantly. You tried to help vampires and werewolves from being monsters." He said calmly, but I scrambled out of his hold in shock.

"Vampires? _Werewolves?" _I gasped, sliding off the table and falling to the floor with a hiss of pain- my body was too weak to even hold me up, and I felt like I'd been run over with a car. Bishop reached down to help me up, and I flinched away. He slowly crouched next to me, hands outstretched. Then, his eyes turned _black_, and fangs slid out of his mouth. I screamed, scrambling away and then hauling myself to my feet using the table, barely standing on trembling legs. "_What is going on?"_ I whimpered, clutching the table and moving around it when Bishop did, keeping an equal distance between us. "You're not real. You can't be real!" I ranted in pure terror, then froze when Bishop was suddenly in front of me, hands raised in surrender. He'd moved without me even seeing him. He wasn't human. Oh god, oh god, _oh god-_

"You helped people like me. People like Ray. We were friends, Emma." Bishop said quietly as I started to freak out. "And there is a way to get your memory back." His words hung in the air and I looked at him, unsure and scared out of my mind. Who was I? Was I really friends with something as creepy and supernatural as him? Was I really supernatural too, like he said? "That man over there erased your memory."

"_That's not true!"_ The man yelled, breaking out of horrified silence and starting to struggle again, ignoring the fact that a gun was trained on him.

"He erased your memory, Emma, and to get it back, you have to kill him with this." Bishop raised his voice, withdrawing a shiny silver blade out of his jacket and resting it on the table. It looked wickedly sharp. The man on the wall suddenly fell silent, looking at the knife in horror. "He's a werewolf, and a silver blade in the heart will kill him and give your memory back. Then, you will no longer be afraid." Bishop took a step back, as I looked away from him and at the knife. _Kill?_ That instantly didn't seem right.

"You sick bastard! Emma, don't you remember me? I'm Josh, remember?" The man on the wall cried out as I slowly picked up the knife, it's cold metallic feel making me shiver. I paused, knife in hand. _Josh._ The name brought back the déjà vu, just like the man himself. Why? Why didn't my friends Bishop and Ray stir my memory like this man did? I looked up at the man again in confusion, and we locked eyes when Bishop spoke.

"I know things are confusing right now. I know you're scared. But it'll all be over soon." Bishop said softly, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. With those semi-encouraging words (the man knew just how I felt) I started forward, knife in hand.

"Oh, god, Emma, please! I didn't betray you; it was Bishop and Ray who hurt you! They have the magnets!" The man begged as I approached. "I'm _Josh, _Emma, don't you remember? We're in love!" He added finally, and I ground to a halt, eyes widening. A strange pressure was on my lips, but it was faint, coming from my empty mind. It was as if I was remembering the memory of…_a kiss._ Unable to help myself, my free hand drifted up and touched my lips, trying to understand. Looking into Josh's eyes, I felt something more than déjà vu. I felt a certainty that Josh wasn't my enemy. "Emma, there's a phone in your pocket. If Bishop and Ray are really your friends, they'll let you make a phone call." Josh started to instruct in a forced calm, but Bishop interrupted, putting an arm around me and bringing me forward, even when I let my heels drag in reluctance.

"Emma, this man _hurt _you. Look." He fished in his pocket and withdrew a mirror, angling it so I could see my neck. Unsure, I inched a little closer and tilted my head. Burned into my skin was a perfect circle, about two inches across. For a moment, it stunned me, until I realized that the mark on my neck proved nothing. "_DO IT!"_ Bishop urged, taking my wrist with a cold hand and raising the tip towards the man, who winced and stiffened under it's influence.

"The dog deserves it, Emma." Ray spoke for the first time, leaning against the table, spinning the chamber on his pistol.

"Let go," I said faintly, hearing the fear in my voice, trying to pull free from Bishop. Suddenly, I was back to square one. I didn't trust Bishop and Ray anymore. I didn't trust myself, either. "Let—go-!" I started to jerk in Bishop's grip. He swung me around and grabbed my other wrist in an iron grip. His eyes swirled to black and I almost dropped the knife as fangs suddenly snapped down from his gums.

"_Get off her!"_ The man roared, then sucked in a fast breath as Bishop wrapped an arm around my throat, the other snaking down my arm and taking control of it, raising the knife to Josh's chest. "Jump, Emma. _Jump!"_ Josh urged in a strained voice, body reflexively shying away from the knife. More confused than ever, I stared hard at him, brow creasing. All of them had told me I could 'jump'. How?

"Take her, Ray, I'll do it myself!" Bishop snarled, pivoting, picking me up and _throwing_ me. I never made it to Ray, even though I got a glimpse of him standing up to grab me. There was a loud bang, some snarls, and I slammed into the wall across the room, stars exploding in front of my eyes. The throbbing in my head enfolded me, making me totally limp. I could hear a fight raging, there was snarling, bangs, and shouts. Then, someone slid next to me, gently turning me over.

"Emma? _Emma?"_ The man was calling urgently, giving me a gentle shake. "Oh, thank god," he breathed as I slowly opened my eyes, trying to disperse my aching head. I could hear my own pulse in my ears, and my mouth had a metallic taste to it.

"Is she alright?" A new man appeared above Josh, his eyes black, something red on his fangs. Crying out in shock, I scrambled out of Josh's hold and against the wall, freaking out. There was a loud snarl and a sickening snapping sound behind them, making me shudder.

"She lost her memory, Aidan. She doesn't remember any of us." Josh addressed him quietly, sitting back on his heels in despair. I hastily wiped blood off of my lip, looking away, too scared to even make eye contact.

"_What?"_ Asked a new voice, this one female, in shock. A beautiful, red haired woman walked over, fangs sliding back into her mouth. I quickly looked back to the one called Aidan, then back to her. Both were also semi familiar. "Emma?" She asked, crouching down, freezing when I pressed myself further against the wall. Frantically trying to keep an eye on all three of them, I slowly started to inch up the wall to a standing position, and they all rose with me, looking lost and shocked, as if I'd done them all a great injustice.

"Who are you p-people?" I whimpered, holding onto the wall for support as my knees trembled. The last people who'd said that they were my friends turned out to be the opposite. Even if they had been, they were dead now, at the hands of these new people. Scared shitless, I willed myself to slip into the wall and disappear. The woman recoiled as if I'd burned her, looking like she was about to cry.

"Oh god," she sobbed before being embraced by the tall, dark haired one, who was still looking at me with such sadness in his eyes. Suddenly, behind the male vampire, the room started to _disappear_, as if it was being blotted away by an unseen force. My feet started to feel light, and I pressed myself harder against the cold stone wall, trying not to hyperventilate. The room was _vanishing_! Where would I go? What would happen to me? Was I about to die? What was happening?

"Emma?" The werewolf asked, looking over his shoulder in confusion, trying to follow my horrified gaze. "What's wrong?"

"Stop it," I breathed, my fingertips scraping on the cold stone as I tried to anchor myself to it. This had to be their fault, this wasn't natural; this wasn't _possible! _I wasn't doing it; it had to be them. All of the corners were disappearing; darkness was seeping into the room, over two dead bodies, swallowing the table-

"She's jumping," the vampire said suddenly, letting go of the woman, leaning forward.

"_Make it stop!_" I screamed, sagging against the wall and covering my head. Why wouldn't it stop? Why—_why?_

"Emma, focus on me, and focus on my voice-" The man started frantically.

"Don't touch her Josh!" The woman cried out, voice thick from crying.

"Emma, don't do this," the other vampire was saying lowly, over his other two companions, struggling to stay calm. Then his voice disappeared- he'd been sucked in-

"_Emma!"_ The werewolf called desperately, but half of the word cut off when he was sucked away, making me scream. Seconds later, I was enfolded.


	10. Lost

_Jumper_

**Emma starts to find clues about who she was, even if they don't make sense. **

_Lost_

I was lost in a whirlwind, appearing somewhere and being ripped away two seconds later. I'd been in a zoo, then a dark and lonely cobblestone road, then a desert; a crowded market-

With a popping noise, I was suddenly sprawled across stone and clothing, and, somehow, I didn't disappear again. It was slightly muggy, and the lights were low. The room I'd woken up in was long gone. As I bolted to my feet with a wince, the whole room spun. Hyperventilating, my knees buckled and I crashed into a washing machine, falling back to the floor, hitting my head with a dull _thunk_. I'd just gone from one place to a completely different one, instantly. _That wasn't possible._ Those people had been right- somehow. "Ok, stand up, bub, hands where I can see them." A voice said suddenly, filling me with even more fear. Chest heaving, I slowly rose, raising my hands like they do in the movies, looking into the face of a young dark haired man with lightly tanned skin. He was short, shorter than I was, but was carrying a large baseball bat. I must be in his house. "Emma?" The man asked, and for a second, I stopped hyperventilating. Why was it that _everyone_ knew me except me? "Oh my god, Emma, how did you get in here? Where have you been?" The man asked, dropping the baseball bat and hugging me, even though I flinched and didn't hug him back. "Emma?" The man questioned, pulling back as he felt me start to hyperventilate again. He looked at me a moment, almost with understanding, before backing off a bit and saying, quietly, "Emma, have you forgotten who I am? Have you lost your memory again?"

"Again? What do you mean, again?" I panted, dropping my arms and holding onto myself. "This has happened before? Oh god, oh god-"

"Emma, calm down. It's ok. Sit." The man insisted, sinking to the floor of his own laundry room, patting a pile of clothes next to him. Glad to be off of my aching feet, I collapsed across from him, still holding myself together. "Do you remember who I am?" The man started out, and I shook my head quickly, looking at the floor. "Emma, I'm Carson. We used to date a long time ago. One time when you were over, you tripped and hit your head on my refrigerator and blacked out. When you woke up, you didn't remember me and ran away. I haven't heard from you since—until now." He summarized easily, and I locked my hands into my hair, panicking again.

"I must have amnesia or something, I d-don't remember any of that, or _you_, or where I woke up a f-few minutes ago—I don't know who you are, or who _I_ am, or—or-" I jerkily got to my feet again, catching myself on the dryer when my whole body swayed. "—and, and, I just _appeared_ here!" I dropped my hands from my hair after whirling on the spot, freaking out. Carson had raised his hands halfway in a silent 'calm down' gesture, but was watching me curiously, as if he might have known more about me than I did.

"Emma, do you know what happened to you? How you lost your memory?" He asked calmly, and I nearly screamed in frustration.

"_NO! _I don't, and everyone I'm meeting knows who I am and I don't know them and then they hurt me and I don't know what's going on and _I don't know!_" I cried, then leapt on the spot as the room above Carson began to disappear. "Oh, no, nononononono-" I ranted, hugging myself, squeezing my eyes shut. Even with them closed, I could _sense_ that the room was vanishing, sounds were dying, and then, before Carson could say another word, I was gone.

**oOoOoOo**

Staring dumbly, I looked at the space between my washer and dryer. One second, here, the next, gone. Emma had appeared and disappeared into thin air in a matter of moments. _That wasn't possible. _Cautiously, I moved forward and stuck my hand into the air where she had been seconds before, hugging herself and mumbling, obviously scared about something I couldn't see. Moving more into her space, I waved my arms, feeling for anything solid. As I stepped forward again, I felt something hard under my foot. Kneeling, I pushed my laundry (which was strewn around the room) aside to find a rectangular cell phone, one that looked expensive. It definitely wasn't mine. Since Emma wasn't here anymore, I curiously flicked it open. After a quick breeze through, I found the contacts menu, and was surprised to see only two numbers on the list. One was for a guy named Aidan, which made me instantly bristle. The other was simply labeled 'home'. Slowly, I stood back up, staring at the contact's number. It was a long distance number, even off of my continent. Trying not to dwell on the supernatural aspect of it all, I went upstairs, turning the phone over and over in my hand. I had to call sooner or later; the phone would run out of batteries if I didn't. It was the only part of Emma that I could physically touch now- and she obviously needed help. I flipped the phone back open and after taking a deep breath, punched the call button, trying the home number first. The connection, surprisingly, wasn't patchy at all. The phone rang three times before someone picked up. "Hello?" The voice sounded like a robot; detached and dispassionate.

"Hi, um, I'm calling on the behalf of Emma McCann." I stumbled over the words, realizing that I had no way of explaining this. For a moment, there was complete silence.

"Continue," The person on the other end said cautiously, finally, after an agonizing ten seconds.

"We met awhile back and one day she disappeared. She just showed up in my house and dropped the cell phone I'm calling from."

"Just now?" The voice demanded, filling with hope.

"Just now," I confirmed. "She'd lost her memory again, she didn't even remember me."

"Wait, wait, again? Who is this?" The person on the other end was definitely male, and his tone picked up a new sense of urgency as he spoke.

"My name is Carson Weatherly. We used to date a long, _long_ time ago. She's done this before, but it's never been this severe." I added, and listened curiously as two voices chimed in, sounding equally as urgent.

"Where are you?" Was the question I wrangled out of the mess of voices.

"I live in Knysna, South Africa." I answered, and another question was asked nearly on top of my answer.

"How did she get in your house? Did she say anything about where she came from?" A different male's voice, this one sounding younger and more scared impugned through the phone, as if it was my fault.

"Calm down, Josh," the other male advised, and before the other could answer, I cut in.

"She only mentioned that she didn't know where she was. Ok, this might sound weird, but Emma kind of…_vanished._ One second she was there, the next she was-"

"Gone." The younger male said bitterly on the other end. There was a moment of silence.

"Do you guys Skype?" I asked, walking into my kitchen, sitting down, and wiggling the mouse. The computer 'woke up' as the guy answered.

"Yes, we'll log on right now. Username?" He asked, and in the background I could hear someone furiously typing.

"It's easy, carsonweatherly. Yours?" There was a moment of silence, and then, he admitted, quietly, "ladykiller is the username." **(There's some syfy for ya!)** After finding each other and battling through a rough connection, our call finally went through. I hung up as a living room came into view. Clustered around a laptop were three people, a gorgeous redhead, a young man who looked really rough, and a tall, strong but silent type. "Well, hi." I said clearly yet awkwardly, rubbing my neck.

"Did Emma seem…ok? Despite the amnesia?" The woman asked, her voice thick with emotion.

"She was a bit shaky, and it looked like there was a circular burn on her neck." I recalled, and the woman's face twisted with sorrow. "And, um, there was the whole disappearing act that's got me worried." I stopped dancing around the main topic and got right to the point.

"She's done this to us before." The tall and dark one said after a moment of pained silence on their end. The young man looked absolutely destroyed as he directed his gaze into his lap, unable to look at the computer anymore.

"You're serious? But it's so….supernatural!" I protested weakly.

"Tell us about it," the man said humorlessly, passing a hand over his eyes, looking exhausted. They looked really rough; Emma must have really been friends with them.

"Well, um, I'll mail the phone back if you give me an address." I offered, and the woman reached forward and typed it in robotically. She was grieving as if Emma was dead, something I didn't understand.

"Did she mention anyone's name? Anyone at all?" The younger man asked, sounding bitter, not looking up to address me directly.

"I'm sorry, no," I said, then blinked when he lurched forward and ended the call; the only trace of the odd group was the address they'd given me at the bottom of the screen.

**oOoOoOo**

I fell down some shelving and landed with a huge bang on some nice hardwood floor, boxes tumbling down all around me. When my head cleared, I saw that I was in a pantry of all things, which made my heart leap into my throat. If someone was home and heard the loud ruckus I'd just made, I could be in a _lot_ of trouble. After listening for several minutes and only hearing silence back, I took a better look around. The pantry was nice, swanky even, and stocked with lots of food. Suddenly starving, I cracked open the nearest jar of nutella and a loaf of bread and got to work. Eating helped, it cleared my head a bit more and I stopped shaking. I couldn't help but be a little curious about where I was, so I cracked open the door to the pantry and peeked. The house I was in looked _really _expensive and high class; there was a diamond chandelier and shag carpeting. Stepping over a box of Apple Jacks, I ventured into the mansion, going past a room full of nothing but a liquor cabinet and a pool table. Passing a hot tub, I took a left and warily explored another hallway, opening doors and not finding much until I stumbled upon a _nice_ bathroom. The tub in it was huge, and looked deep too. Wasting no time, I stripped. As I was pulling off my sock, it made a _thud _noise as it hit the marble floor. I paused, half naked, wondering if I could just ignore it and take a nice bath. Curiosity won out, and I stole a giant fluffy robe to put on, picking up my sock again and reaching inside.

The first thing I pulled out was a switchblade knife, which I dropped instantly in shock. Leaving it on the floor, I reached in again and pulled out two plastic cards wrapped in a tiny wad of cash. Bemused, I sank onto the toilet, setting the knife on the vanity. I peeled off the wad of cash, counting out two hundred dollars. The first card was a credit card; the second, a Driver's License. After staring at the picture for a minute, I got up and looked in the mirror, then held up the license next to my face.

_It was me._

Scrutinizing the card, I discovered that I was 5'5'', weighed one hundred and seven pounds, and used to hail from Boston, Massachusetts. Transfixed, I mechanically started to fill the giant tub, still staring at my own face. When that picture had been taken, what had I been doing? Where did I live in Boston? Who were my friends, my family? What did I do for a living? When the bath was full, I unashamedly used all of the fancy products along the edge, trying to relax myself to answers. It felt _really_ good, but I remembered nothing. So I got out of the tub, drained the water, and donned the fluffy bathrobe again; searching around the giant house, carrying my grubby clothes with me until I found the bedroom. Fortunately, it was a woman's closet, not a man's. I 'borrowed' her duffel bag and most of her clothes, which felt and looked as high end as the house itself. Trying to reassure myself that if she had this much money, she didn't need as many clothes anyway, I picked up the duffel bag packed with clothes and wandered back to the kitchen and pantry. Just in case, I shoved as much non-perishable food as possible into the duffel bag and then returned to the bedroom. I was exhausted, but if I disappeared in again, I wanted to be prepared for wherever I went next time. Looping my arm into the strap on the duffel bag, I climbed into the bed, shoes on and everything, and gratefully fell asleep.

The next morning, I had no idea where I was for a second, almost making me hyperventilate and disappear again. After everything that had happened to me yesterday, it'd been weird to wake up in a normal setting. It was even stranger that the homeowner hadn't even shown up yet, nor had the cops. For breakfast, I ate a crap ton of food, but my feast didn't even put a dent into all the food in the house. It was like someone had planned on feeding an army of fancy business people; there was shrimp, champagne, caviar, you name it. As I cleaned up my dishes (I was a neat version of a home invasion), I tried another fruitless attempt of racking my brains heavily, going over the painfully short list of memories in my head with perfect detail, trying to remember _anything._

It was scary that I came up with nothing. I went over every name I'd heard; Rebecca, Aidan, Josh, Carson, Ray and Bishop, but nothing was coming up. I even considered booting up the extremely high-tech looking computer in the bedroom, but what would I search? Amnesia? All of the names above without a single last name or other contributing factor? I only had one place and six names, and none of them did me a shred of good. I wasn't stupid enough to search for 'I spontaneously vanish and I can't control it', because it wasn't as if Google could give me answers on that one that weren't from a movie. Frustrated, I flopped onto a couch and stared at the opposite wall, trying to think of my next move. After an hour or two, I could only come up with one thing, and it was so scary to think about that I didn't think I'd have the courage to even try to actually do it.

I had to learn how to control this 'jumping' thing, and I needed to learn fast. The question was, how?

**oOoOoOo**

Chagrined, I stared at the packing box. It was a tiny little thing; I was only sending a cell phone after all. I'd considered trying to skype them back, but Emma's friends seemed really upset about more things than I knew, and since they accepted Emma's freakiness as normal, I just decided to let it go. For all I knew, Emma was a completely different person now with different tastes and interests. "Well, here goes nothing," I muttered, and opened the UPS flap and shoved the little box inside, hearing it fall to the bottom with a _clunk._ Pondering the mystery of Emma, I walked back to where I'd chained up my bike and spun the combination lock, thinking hard.

It was humanly and scientifically impossible for someone to evaporate into thin air and leave no trace, and, yet, Emma had done it right in front of me. She'd gone from confused to scared right before it happened, which mystified me further. If I was to go with the supernatural theory, wouldn't she know how to vanish and be able to control it?

Even more important: did I want to get involved with something so creepy and weird? What Emma had done seemed…alien. I usually wasn't a superstitious or gullible person, but what I'd seen was straight out of a science fiction movie. I couldn't deny it; it was a bit scary to ponder what had happened to the poor girl, and if she'd ever get the help she needed.


	11. Genevieve

_Jumper_

**Emma gives herself a diagnosis and runs into some trouble.**

_Genevieve_

Sitting on the swanky couch, I stared at the coffee table. On it were my credit card, driver's license and switchblade. Next to them was a medical dictionary I'd found in the 'library room' of this mansion. The binding had never been opened, even though the book was fairly new. Glaring down at the definition I'd turned to, I read it again.

_**Retrograde amnesia:**__ Amnesia in which the lack of memory relates to events that occurred before a traumatic event. _

So I'd given a name to my new condition, big whoop. It didn't help me at all, only told me what I already knew, that I remembered nothing from before the 'accident'. Running my finger over the letters, I felt another pang of frustration. I couldn't stay in this house forever, but I had no idea where I was, no idea how to 'jump' away, and no idea where to go. I hated feeling so helpless and stupid; I wanted to be in control again. I wanted the truth; I wanted the mysteries to end. Everything I'd been told was flying through my brain, trying to be analyzed to see if they were lies. The number one thought? The man named Josh's comment that we were 'in love'. When I brought up his face in my head, I couldn't deny that he was cute, and the déjà vu and the possible memory of a kiss I'd felt just by looking at him could be counted as evidence…but I couldn't be sure. I had no friends, no one I could count on to help me remember, and that was possibly the most frustrating thing of all. With a sigh, I stood up, closing the book and gathering up my belongings, stuffing them back into my sock. Picking up the duffel bag (I carried it with me everywhere, just in case), I wandered back to the kitchen. As I sat on the bar, it happened.

The ceiling by the fridge started to disappear.

_God, no, stay here, stay here, stay here! _I urged silently, letting my fingers clench around the edges of the granite counter. The darkness halted as I actually noticed my fingers for the first time. It wasn't the room that was disappearing. It was _me. _My fingers were translucent, even though they were holding tight to a real object. Transfixed, I let go of the counter top but clutched my bag tighter with my free hand, observing my other hand at the same time. The room stopped disappearing as I watched the translucent-ness race up my hand and arm. _STOP!_ I ordered, and it flickered for a second before continuing. Seconds later, darkness surrounded me. Then I was falling through a glass display, bottles clinking and smashing around me, drenching me in a foul smelling liquid. I struggled to my feet, disoriented, and felt blood drip down my arm; I'd cut myself on the glass as I fell through it. In the low lighting, I got a look around and realized that I was in a gallery of some kind, almost like a museum.

"How did you get in here?" A gruff voice demanded, and I leapt in fright as a cold, strong hand closed around my forearm. I hadn't heard anyone approach in the stillness of the large room. His appearance was eerie. "Take her bag," The man added as I turned in his grasp, getting a look at him and paling. He looked like the other vampires I'd met, cold, pale, and dangerous. Another cold hand pried the strap of the duffel bag from my hand.

"Come on, Genevieve will want to deal with his herself." Said the other man, and the man holding me shrugged, tightening his grip and dragging me after his companion. I considered fighting back, but I'd had quite enough of vampires. Dread stole over me as we got into a silent elevator, heading up. I was seriously in trouble now. _Jump. _I thought frantically in my head, trying to get myself to do it. Nothing happened, and the elevator stopped. The man dragged me off after his friend, marching us down corridors until we reached a door, which we went through. The room in front of us was incredible, large and oval shaped. The walls were full of floor-to-ceiling windows, letting in a fantastic sky-line. The Eiffel Tower could be seen a few miles away. Sitting at a tiny circular table for two was a woman. She had black hair cropped close to her head in a modern, pointy style. She had a mug next to her, and an ashtray. Inbetween two of her long, pale fingers was an antique cigarette. Her nails were painted blood red. She wore a tightly tailored ash grey suit and black stilettos.

"Ce qui s'est produit?" She asked sharply, turning. Her eyes were black; a vampire, then. She looked from her thugs to me, her eyes watching my blood drip to the floor. **(What happened?)**

"Nous l'avons cette fille trouvée dans la collection." The guy holding me answered in broken French, pushing me forward. **(We found this girl in the collection.)**

"C'est impossible!" The woman said, standing up and walking closer. I took a deep breath and took a step back. I was going to get it now, she'd probably suck me dry and then chop me into little pieces and throw me in the Marnes River. "Comment avez-vous le faire il?" She asked, taking my chin and looking at me. Seconds later, she let go, looking satisfied. "Vous êtes un jumper." She said, sounding sure, looking at me smugly, and chills went up my spine. I didn't know French, but I understood perfectly what she'd just said. "Laissez-nous." She told her burly men, and they left, shutting the door behind them with a resounding _click._ **(That's impossible! / How did you do it? / You're a jumper. / Leave us.) **"I have never met one like you. Jumpers are hard people to…locate. Sit," She insisted, walking back to her little table and picking up her cigarette again. "_Sit."_ She ordered when I just stood there, unsure of what to do. She hadn't killed me yet…was that good or bad? "My name is Genevieve." She started as I slowly sat down. Her voice was heavily marred by her French accent; English was obviously her second language. She gave me a look, so I responded.

"Emma." I said stiffly, still keeping pressure on the gash on my arm. It wasn't that big, but I was surrounded by vampires who were probably tempted to drain me right now. Suddenly, it prickled sharply, but I ignored it, keeping my gaze fixed on this woman.

"And _why_ did you jump into my collection of antique absinthe?" Genevieve asked sharply, tapping the cigarette butt into the ashtray, fixing me with an eagle eye stare. "And why have you not…the term is 'jumped' away, no?"

"I can't." I said shortly, looking out the window to avoid her gaze. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Genevieve raise her eyebrows and take a draw on her cigarette.

"And why not?" She asked, sounding like she was suppressing excitement. My hand clenched into a fist around my knee, and I turned back to glare at her. If she thought that my confusion, fear, and inability to jump was a good thing, she was a sick bitch.

"I have retrograde amnesia." I threw back at her, peeking under my hand and blinking in shock. The cut was gone. _Gone. _Before I could register this astonishing development, Genevieve pressed on.

"Explain, s'il vous plait." She ordered, snubbing out her cigarette and fixing her beady gaze on me. **(please)**

"I woke up two days ago in a room I didn't know surrounded by people I didn't recognize. I don't remember who I was before that room." I cut it down to two sentences, wishing I'd disappear.

"Was there a man named Bishop there?" She asked slyly, and I bolted to my feet, shaking the table and staring at this woman, eyes wide. _How did she know that?_

"Did you know him?" I asked, my voice sharper than I intended, remembering clearly what Bishop had done to me, and wondering what else he'd done that I didn't remember. Suddenly, this situation seemed a lot more dangerous. This woman had been excited when I'd mentioned that I could no longer jump. She knew who Bishop was…was she involved?

"I created him." Genevieve said, taking a sip of her drink, but her eyes never left me, analyzing my confused expression. "He called me two days ago and asked about how to kill a jumper." She continued, setting down the cup into the saucer and I froze, watching her warily now. My mind was reeling: she was involved in my past, even if she might've helped to destroy me.

"What did you tell him?" I asked through gritted teeth, watching her. If I'd lost my memory because of her-

"Why, what you've already demonstrated for me. Jumpers are fascinating beings." She said, gesturing to my arm, which was already fully healed; nothing but a faint pink line remained. I looked at it, then back at her, unsure. She knew things that I needed to know. I wanted to ask her, but she'd basically admitted to helping Bishop hurt me. Was it worth the risk?

"What can you tell me?" I asked slowly, and she smiled, fangs on clear display.

"That depends, Emma. Sit. We shall…exchange information." She said, gesturing to my chair. I slowly sat back down, hands holding tight to the table. "Advanced Jumpers can heal themselves like you demonstrated by jumping healthy cells over damaged ones. Jumpers, for all of their amazing skill, have _one_ weakness." She said, running one finger over the rim of her cup, but watching me with that _look. _"Magnets," She said clearly, and I raised a hand and traced the circular burn on the side of my neck, frowning. "They usually kill Jumpers with long term exposure, especially the stronger magnets. However, they can erase memories." She said, and I felt my forehead crease. "What happened to Bishop, or do you not know?" Genevieve changed the topic, and I nearly objected until I remembered that she wanted something in return.

"Two vampires came in and killed him." I provided harshly, and she tapped her chin with one of her long red fingernails, watching me critically.

"Do you know who those vampires are?" She asked, and I raised an eyebrow, trying to play it cool. The longer I had information to give her, the longer I had for her to tell me things.

"That depends. Where did Bishop live?" I asked back, and she leaned back, watching me with hard eyes.

"In Boston, Massachusetts, United States." She recited, and I looked out the window, feeling my excitement mount. I had a place, a starting place. I'd lived in Boston, Massachusetts. Maybe I could find answers there….if I could get there. "The names." She reminded me, tapping the table top with her fingernail to get my attention.

"Rebecca and Aidan. There was also a werewolf with them called Josh." I said, and she started to chuckle, looking out the window and lightly shaking her head.

"I should have known. Aidan and Bishop have always…disliked each other." She chose her words carefully, turning back to me, expectant.

"Why?" I asked, trying not to demand it. I didn't believe that Genevieve was lying to me. Why would she? She hadn't killed me; she'd wanted information.

"Bishop created Aidan almost two hundred years ago." She replied, taking another sip of her drink. "Now." She said briskly, clapping her hands twice. The door opened and the two men came back in, standing at attention. "You will be staying with moi. We have much more to learn from each other. I have a feeling you will be very useful. Come. I will show you all I know of your kind." She stood up and took me by the arm, walking quickly out of the room. "Venez. Porter le sac." She said bitingly to the men, and they followed us. **(Come on. Bring the bag.)** Heart beating fast, I let Genevieve nearly drag me through hallways until we reached another door. She hastily opened it and pulled me inside. We were in a small square room. All of the walls were covered in bookshelves, but there weren't many books. There was one table in the middle of the room, and it was covered in notebooks and scraps of paper. "This room is full of my notes on 'Jumpers'. This is all I know. That door," she pointed to one on the left, "leads to a room where you will stay. Tomorrow we will discuss your future." She said strongly, leading me to the table and sitting me down. Before I could protest, she whirled around and nearly flew out of the room. One of the men set down my bag and then closed the door, and I distinctly heard it lock from the outside.

"Great," I muttered, getting up and checking the door, just to make sure. Then, with a sigh, I picked up the duffel bag and went through the other door. The room was actually better than the swanky house I'd disappeared from. Setting my duffel down, I walked back into the other room and sat at the table and started shifting through the notes.

**oOoOoOo**

"Aidan et Rebecca et Josh." I purred, walking into my own quarters and picking up my cell phone, going to the computer. After some wrangling, I found Aidan's number through Bishop's files. Bishop had really been careless when it came to underestimating my power; I'd hacked into his systems a long time ago. "Ce doit être un plaisir." I said to myself with a grin, dialing the number and lazily putting the phone to my ear. **(This should be fun.)**

"Hello?" Aidan sounded guarded as he picked up his cell phone, and I didn't blame him. An untraceable number from France calling me would make me nervous too.

"Bonjour, Aidan. We do not know each other, yet we are…connected." I started to goad him slowly, and I heard him take a quick breath. This was my favorite part of the game; being infuriating and in control made me feel alive.

"Who is this?" he demanded, and I laughed softly, going to the window.

"I believe I've found something of yours. Have you lost a Jumper, Aidan? Quelle honte." I tutted, and for a moment, there was only silence over the phone. **(What a shame.)**

"How did you get this number, Genevieve?" He asked, putting two and two together, making me smirk as I took in Paris. I had to give him credit for holding back his emotion for this long. Emma had to be a friend of his, only if someone Aidan cared about was in danger would he have even dared to try to kill Bishop.

"I have connections. I also have a Jumper here who is so lost and confused…it seems she doesn't remember who she is anymore." I said with mock sorrow, but grinned when I clearly heard his fangs slide out over the phone; I'd pissed him off. When he didn't say anything, I continued, inspecting one of my fingernails. "You may have her when I'm finished…for a price, of course."

"I want her now. What do you want?" Aidan demanded, and I laughed softly again.

"You may have her when I'm finished." I repeated, letting ice edge over my words. "If you still want her when I'm done, you may…in exchange for your pet." I let my mind wander for a moment as Aidan thought it over. My very own werewolf to study! The possibilities would be endless…

"Fine. May I at least come to see her?" Aidan asked, and I pondered for an agonizingly long time, even though I'd already made up my mind. I could almost hear his impatience over the phone.

"I'm afraid that will be impossible. However, I will send you…let's call them…updates. You will not be left out of my process." I hung up then, sliding the phone shut with a satisfied smirk. If Aidan thought there'd be anything left to Emma, he was mistaken. Jumpers fascinated me, and now that I had the perfect test subject in my grasp, I wouldn't let her go. I'd study every inch of her…the outside _and_ the inside.

**oOoOoOo**

"Who is this Genevieve person?" Josh demanded, leaning against the kitchen table. He'd taken Emma disappearance the hardest, blaming himself for not doing more. He angrily raked a hand through his disheveled hair, glaring at the table top.

"She's Bishop's creator." I sighed, drumming my cell phone against the table.

"And _how_ did she get Emma?" Sally asked after shaking the house.

"How should I know?" I shot back, rubbing my forehead tiredly. "Look, Genevieve is all the way in Paris. I could go over there, but she'd probably have me killed on the spot." I added as Rebecca put her head in her hands.

"There has to be something we can do." Sally said miserably from next to the microwave.

"I think there is." Rebecca said suddenly, sounding hoarse. She disappeared and reappeared a few seconds later, notebook in hand. "These are all the places Emma jumped to on accident. Maybe-maybe there's a pattern in there somewhere. I'm going to go. I'm going to get this analyzed, ok?" She quickly turned and left. Seconds later, the door slammed.

"This is insane." Sally whispered, and the house shook again.


	12. Trapped

_Jumper_

**Emma finds out what she is and what Genevieve is really after. After a bit of wrangling, she ends up going back to a place she'd been before.**

_Trapped_

After a long night and not much sleep, I went back to Genevieve's notes. They were pretty good at explaining things to me, and I actually learned a lot. They talked a lot about _how_ to jump, something that I was eager to try. I didn't like how Genevieve had locked me away, as if I was one of her possessions. If I could get out of here, I was going to. The notes had mentioned how jumping was almost entirely mental- you had to picture precisely where you were and then where you wanted to go. Then you just turned on the spot and _boom_, you'd jumped. It also mentioned slower jumps where you essentially turned invisible; when you were located 'inbetween' your current location, and the jump to a new place. The notes had even touched on how to move objects, something, after a bit of practice, I got a hold of right away. It suddenly just _clicked._ I could bring objects to me from the adjoining room whenever I wanted. I'd even unlocked the door by jumping the lock. No one had been in the hallway, and I didn't want Genevieve to find out, so I locked the door again and pretended like it'd never even happened. "How was your night, ma cherie?" Genevieve asked, suddenly sweeping into the room as I sat on the bed, reading from one of the books.

"Fine," I said, watching her carefully. She'd gone from locking me into a room to calling me her 'darling'? That was weird.

"Excellent. Today, I want to give you a CAT scan, an MRI and X-rays to see inside your head. Maybe we can see what portions of your brain were affected and how we can reverse your amnesia." She insisted, pulling me out of bed by the forearm again. Without even waiting for my reply, she yanked me out of the room and into an elevator then down a few more corners to another room.

"My laboratory." She waved her free hand dismissively at the giant lab we'd just walked into as she dragged me along, her fingernails nearly scratching out hollows in my skin as she tightened her grip slightly. We passed huge racks of testubes, beakers and flasks. She had four freezers and four coolers, as well as one huge table full of Bunsen burners. Finally, we stopped at almost the very end of the lab, where some very high tech machinery was waiting for us. "Here we are. X-ray's first, ma cherie." She positioned the lead aprons and took X-rays faster than I could blink. In a wave of motion she passed me through the MRI and the CAT scans. "While we wait for the results, I will show you your blood tests over petit-déjeuner, no?" She said, pulling me to the same room as yesterday. Breakfast was waiting on the same table.

"When did you take my blood, Genevieve?" I asked guardedly as she sat me down.

"My associates took samples from the floor." She responded dispassionately, watching me with a gaze that carried a lot more weight compared to yesterday. She clapped her hands and one of the men walked in, handing her a computer printout. He left as she unfolded them, breezing over the information in about four seconds. "Eat, I will explain." She ordered with more severity than usual, and didn't start talking until I at least picked up a croissant. I considered not eating, but I'd noticed that I got terribly shaky and light headed when I didn't. "Your blood work is all normal." She said flatly, as if she was disappointed. "Your DNA has revealed nothing. I might have to go deeper for answers."

"I want you to tell me more about the people from Boston. Rebecca, Josh and Aidan; I want to know more about them." I said back in a hard, clear voice. Genevieve sized me up for a moment, clearly irritated, before pulling out a cigarette and lighting up.

"What is there to tell you? I do not know these people, only the Bishop." She said dismissively, but I wasn't about to give up.

"You knew at least who Aidan was yesterday." I challenged, and her nails scraped against the table top as she glared at me.

"I only know what Bishop told me; that Aidan was a rebel, a heretic. He refused to feed directly from humans, he would drink out of blood packets that he would steal from the hospital. He was a weak, disrespectful vampire who was boarding with a _werewolf_ of all filth." Genevieve hissed, her eyes starting to swirl to black.

"What hospital?" I demanded, and in one move she swiped everything off the table in her huge, sudden wave of anger.

"I've had enough of your questions. It is my turn for answers." She hissed, eyes fully black now. My heart had leapt into my throat when she'd knocked everything off the table, but I held my ground, keeping my gaze fixed on her, filtered through an emotionless mask of a face.

"There was to be an equal trade. You got to run your tests and lock me away. Now it's my turn, or I leave." I threatened, and her fangs sucked back in, but she kept staring at me with unmasked hatred. It was now clear that she hadn't wanted to help me at all…it was like she wanted to _research _me, as if I was a new species.

"Do not play games with me. I have powerful magnets in this facility. I will use them if I must." She said quietly, yet in a deadly tone.

"You won't have to if you answer my question." I said, standing up to be on an equal level with her. We glared at each other for a minute before she replied.

"He works at a Hospital with his pet werewolf." She said through gritted teeth, leaning forward, trying to intimidate me.

"_Which hospital?"_ I raised my voice, leaning forward, starting to get angry. She was the one person in the world who could possibly give me answers and she wasn't doing it. Genevieve raised a hand, as if to strike me, when there was a knock on the door.

"Qu'est-ce?" She snarled, and the door opened, one of her burly men walking in. **(What?)**

"Les résultats, madame." The man said in his broken French, handing her some papers. **(The results, Ms.)**She snatched them and the guy backed out. Without a second thought, I jumped them from her hand and into mine. The first page was full of pictures of my brain. The whole thing was inflamed. Genevieve's hand closed around my wrist then, and she forced my hand down until I let go of the results with a gasp of pain, letting them slide onto the table.

"I will remove your brain from your head so that I can study it. I'll make you into tissue samples." Genevieve growled, tightening her grip on my wrist until it creaked, making my face twist. Then she dragged me from the room, even though I fought her this time, dragging my heels and trying to yank free.

"Get—off!" I yelled, and kicked her hard in the elevator. With a feral sounding hiss, she hit me hard across the face, seizing my throat in one hand and pinning me to the wall. We glared at each other, not breaking eye contact until the elevator stopped. Directing me by the throat, she brought me back through her lab until we finally reached the end. Sitting in front of us was a giant glass containment box, like one used for infectious diseases and quarantines. She pressed her thumb to a pad and it beeped and turned green, opening the glass door. Genevieve marched us through, literally picking me up and pushing me into a chair, holding my neck tighter when I went to stand up.

"Je son tiendrai, vous vous rasez." She barked, and the men appeared again. One of them had an electric razor. **(I'll hold her, you shave.) **"I suggest you don't move." She said to me with a feral smile, holding on tighter as the man started up the razor. At first I thought she was going to cut me up while I was still alive. Instead, she had her thug shave off all my hair and then attach electrodes to my head, back and chest. My face tingled as it healed itself from Genevieve hitting me. Then she stripped me and gave me a sterile white tanktop and leggings to wear. Luckily, she left my socks alone, where my ID and switchblade were still stored out of sight…for now. She and her thugs retreated, the door sealing behind them with a _hiss._ She yelled at the men in rapid French and a filtered air system started above me, keeping the air sterile. "Welcome home, Emma." She said through a little speaker on the wall, and I scowled at her, reaching for the nearest electrode, determined to rip it off. "Do not touch that." She barked as I went to rip off the electrodes, fighting off a shiver. "If you take them off I will kill you here and now, and you will never find out about Aidan, Rebecca and Josh." I paused, staring at her, filling with hate. She smirked, stepping away from the speaker and raising…_a camera?_ Before I could reassemble my expression from its furious face, she was already gone. Out of the ceiling, a pure white pillow and blanket fell, both folded neatly.

"_SHIT!"_ I swore, and crossed to the pillow and blanket, trying to remember how to jump. After several attempts, I gave up, plopping onto the pillow with a groan, feeling my throat tingle as my body healed bruises by itself. I had a strange feeling that I'd never been able to do it before, but that contradicted everything I'd learned from Genevieve. Even if she was a psychotic backstabbing bitch, she hadn't lied about all of the information on jumping. It was so frustrating to feel as if I was right on the brink of remembering. As the hours ticked by, I couldn't help but wonder if someone, somewhere, was missing me. My thoughts returned to the three names; Aidan, Josh and Rebecca. I pictured a hospital in my mind's eye, with nurses and doctors running around, sterile white floors…it seemed strange that a vampire and a werewolf worked at a hospital.

**oOoOoOo**

Half watching the monitors on Emma, I flipped open my cell phone and sent the picture to Aidan, unable to suppress some dark, hate filled laughter. I _relished_ being in control, having the upper hand. Aidan would go nuts over the picture, and if I could lure him, Rebecca and the dog to Paris, then I could have the dog to study for free, and I would just kill Aidan and Rebecca. They were useless and against me, something I couldn't have. The sooner they got here, the better. Even though I had Emma cornered for now, she'd still jump randomly eventually. That I couldn't control, couldn't master. I wanted to study her brain, but I needed her alive to get the dog. Aidan would be smart enough to want proof of her life before he even set foot in Paris.

With a sigh, I sat back down, lighting my cigarette. I could just imagine looking at the neurons from a werewolf's cerebral cortex under my microscope; studying the vertebrae from Emma's spine…and, most importantly, finding out how she jumped. If I had to dissect every cell in her body, I'd do it.

**oOoOoOo**

"Are you going to get that or what?" Sally snapped as my phone buzzed. Another lightbulb exploded in her anger, and I sighed, digging it out of my pocket, sneaking a look at Josh in the process. He was sitting in the darkest corner of the house, waiting for night to fall so he could change and forget his unmistakable and consuming grief. I was worried about him- I'd already caught him trying to pack and skip onto a flight to Paris.

"It's probably nothing." I said quietly, flicking it open. My eyes took in the image and I jackknifed to my feet, feeling my eyes swirl to black as I glared at the picture sent to me. It was unmistakably Emma. Her hair was gone. She looked like she was under quarantine…like she was being _studied._ What chilled me the most was the look on Emma's face. It was pure and unleashed fury, as if she really was trapped. "Genevieve," I growled, nearly crunching the phone in my fist until Rebecca rescued it, breezing into the room when she heard me snarl.

"Oh my god, is that _Emma?" _Sally shrieked, looking over Rebecca's shoulder. Josh stumbled to his feet and snatched the phone then stared at it, mouth dropping open in horror.

"Don't you see! This is why we can't go to Paris- she'll do the same thing to you Josh. Genevieve is a sick, twisted woman." I growled as Josh frantically texted the image to himself, then nearly threw my phone at me as he dug out his own. Josh said nothing, his eyes devouring Emma's image, and I felt a pang of loss for him. Josh had been recovering; he'd found a girl he could safely be with. He'd been happy.

"Are you _crazy? _She's got Emma in a box, Aidan, a _box." _Sally yelled, and the kitchen table flipped over. "We have to go after her!"

"We can't. It's exactly what Genevieve wants us to do." Rebecca whispered, and Sally shut up. Josh slowly looked up, eyes burning. "Aidan's right." She said after swallowing hard. "We stay here. Emma will jump eventually. Genevieve will bait us with pictures, but we have to hold back."

"How can you say that?" Sally barely said, looking at Rebecca with disgust.

"Because that's what Emma would say to me, if she were here." Rebecca snarled back at her. Sally's mouth opened into a perfect 'o' before she vanished on the spot. "She'll be fine." Rebecca muttered, almost to reassure herself, as she slowly sat on the couch. Forcing my fangs back in, I sat next to her, hating the silence. It was as if the house had died when Emma disappeared. Nobody talked very loudly anymore, nobody laughed, and nobody brought up Emma unless they had to. Josh was like a robot; he went to work, he came home, and he went to bed. I was afraid to even look at him because he was having fits of rage, randomly kicking things and raking a hand over his disheveled hair in an agonized fashion. Seeing him now, curled in a corner and staring at his phone made me angry. I wanted to go to Paris, I wanted to rip off Genevieve's head like Rebecca had done with the Bishop. I wanted Emma to look at Josh and remember who he was.

At this point, I'd do almost anything.

**oOoOoOo**

I lost all track of time in the box. There were only three or four LED lights high in the ceiling of the box, leaving most of the box in shadow. The only noise was the humming of the air intake system. When I estimated I'd been in the box for three days, (I'd gotten nine meals) I started to try and focus on jumping again. My general destination being 'anywhere but here' was difficult; I needed an _exact _location somewhere else. The first place that came to mind was instantly Boston, Massachusetts; where the three mysterious people from my past lived. However, I couldn't remember an exact, '_exact' _location in Boston itself, which was another problem. In the end, I settled on Boston in general, hoping that it would work. Closing my eyes, I settled myself cross legged on the pillow, concentrating on escaping.

_Boston-Boston-Boston-Boston. I want to go to Boston. Boston. BOSTON._ I chanted over and over in my head, and, to my delight, I started to disappear.

"_No! _Arrêter son!" I heard Genevieve shriek, and my eyes popped open in shock as the world disappeared. **(Stop her!)** Seconds later, I was sprawled across an asphalt road. It was dusk, and cloudy. Forests surrounded the road, and I had a sinking feeling that I wasn't in Boston. I scrambled to my feet, feeling scrapes on my elbows healing already. Electrodes were hanging off of my body, snapped at weird angles from the machines. I instantly started ripping them off, then, grinning, I jumped them back to the box for my final revenge. Then, with a sigh, I started off down the road, gingerly rubbing my bald head. I'd felt it over in the box, but the breeze on my bald head made me shiver. Two minutes later, I stopped to take off my socks, sticking my credit card and ID in my bra. For safety, I carried the switchblade tight in my palm. I walked until I reached a road sign. By then, it was almost dark; I could barely read the sign. It said; '_Tioga County: 7 miles'._

"Tioga County?" I muttered to myself, leaning against the sign and rubbing my bald head, bemused. Where the _hell _was I? With a sigh, I kept following the road as it got steadily darker. Then, as I reached a cross roads, I saw a car. It was waiting at the intersection, and I could hear the music coming from it from where I was standing. I kept walking, even as the car switched the direction of its blinker and turned to follow me. It slowed and idled next to me, keeping pace as I walked.

"Need a ride?" A young man's voice asked, turning down his music at the same time.

"No thank you." I said clearly, not even looking at the car. I frowned though when he didn't drive off.

"Are you sure? It's gonna drop down to forty degrees tonight. I can give you a lift into Waverly if you want." I stopped, looking at the driver for the first time. As soon as I saw him, I had a strange sense of déjà vu. He had large, big brown eyes, like the werewolf from Boston, but he had sandy brown hair. He looked like he was eighteen or so.

"Do I know you?" I asked curiously as the man stopped his car.

"I don't _think_ so." The guy replied, looking equally as curious. "Why don't you hop in, at least." He said after a pause, both of us staring at each other. Cautiously, I got into the car, keeping my hand tight around the switchblade. "How did you get here, anyway?" he asked with a slight edge of nervousness as he pulled back onto the road.

"Where _is_ here?"I asked, and he looked at me in surprise.

"Waverly, New York." The guy said, and I felt a pang of excitement. I had jumped successfully to at least the right continent. I had a feeling I would have made it if Genevieve hadn't interrupted. "This is so weird, like a sci-fi movie or somethin''." He muttered, shooting me another strange look. "Where the heck did you come from?" He asked, confused.

"Paris." I said truthfully, and the kid did a double take.

"Did the aliens drop you off?" The kid asked, half sarcastic half serious. "_What?"_ He spluttered indignantly as I threw him a look. "You look _really_ weird, ok? Nobody round' here goes walkin' along the road at night lookin' like an alien!"

"Thanks, I didn't realize." I said dryly, feeling my irritation spike. I should've never gotten in the car. The kid swallowed and drove for awhile before asking another question.

"You got a name?"

"Should I translate it from my alien tongue?" I asked sarcastically, and he rolled his eyes, slapping the heel of his palm on the steering wheel. "It's Emma." I said, and he twitched, as if he was going to look at me and then thought better of it.

"Ryan," He muttered. As he said it, the déjà vu came back. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, trying to place the kid. Why was it that wherever I jumped to, I ran into people that I felt like I knew? Would this happen all the time?

"Are you ok?" I asked when he twitched again.

"It's nothing." He said after taking a deep breath, eyes fixed firmly on the road. I crossed my arms, not believing him for a second.

"Apparently it's not." I said when a few minutes later, he did it again, his neck twitching, as if he was fighting down the urge to whip his head around and stare at me.

"I lost a sister who had the same name. Happy?" He said sharply.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly as he pulled into town.

"It's alright. It's just a touchy subject." He looked over at me and smiled weakly. "You look a little like her." He added.

"Really? Not many girls I know are bald." I admitted sheepishly, and he laughed.


	13. Memories

_Jumper_

**Emma finds that taking a ride from Ryan brought more than she could have expected; Rebecca makes an interesting discovery into the science of Emma's jumps. **

_Memories_

"Did you find anything?" I asked, leaning over the kid from MIT's shoulder, looking at the computer screen. I'd hired him to set up a global map and all of the locations Emma had jumped to and then analyze the results. To me, it looked like a mess of points and blinking lines of different colors. The nerd, however, was excited.

"Ok, so I triangulated all of the points and cross referenced them with all known codes, sequences and patterns. You had a sagan of points for me, so I had to determine each unique set of exact GPS coordinates." He started, typing furiously, bringing up a long list of locations. "I mean, I had to go into **troglodyte mode!"** **(A sagan is nerd speak for a large quantity, and troglodyte mode is when a computer programmer works with their terminal inverted, in the dark, wearing sunglasses because they've been looking at pixels for too long.) **

"Did you find anything?" I repeated with a hint of impatience, and the kid cackled, bringing up the first screen; the world map with all the points and lines.

"Did I _find_ anything? Holy moly, lady, you won't believe what I found!" He typed furiously again and added another world map to the screen. This one had a series of dashes traveling in what looked like weather patterns up and down the globe. "All of these points follow the nanoteslas of geomagnetism." He burst forth proudly, as if he'd just made a huge scientific breakthrough.

"I don't follow." I said stiffly, and he sighed, enlarging the image.

"Nanoteslas measure how magnetic fields stretch over Earth. These points follow the lines exactly. They even go through the variations in the field." He explained, and I leaned back, too blown away to answer him. Magnets, the one thing that hurt Emma, were a roadmap of where she went. "Where is this data from?" The nerd asked, and I jerked back to reality.

"That doesn't matter. Thank you for your work." I said, and paid him, fending off more questions about where I got the data from. I got a copy of his data and then watched him destroy his copy, just to be sure. As I walked back out onto the street, I thought hard, my imagination running away with me. When Emma wasn't trying, she followed that pattern; she always had. Wouldn't that technically mean that she was following that pattern now? South Africa and Paris, two places where we knew she'd gone were both on the model. If my nerd was right, the next place Emma would go was Russia. Hope started to blossom in my chest as I walked faster, suddenly eager to go home.

**oOoOoOo**

"So, where to?" Ryan asked, pulling into a gas station.

"Um," I said, taking a quick look around the tiny city's downtown. I honestly just needed to find somewhere private to try jumping again. I _had _to make it to Boston. "You can just leave me here, I'll find my own way." I tried to say it convincingly, but I could tell that he wasn't buying it.

"Do I honestly look like the guy who'd dump a girl at a gas station?" He asked, turning off the car.

"Look," I said, trying to find a way to explain this without telling him the real truth, "A couple months ago I got retrograde amnesia; I get lost a lot because of it-"

"Then you need a phone." He interrupted, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cell phone.

"I don't know the number." I told him sheepishly, and he tucked it away, looking slightly confused, yet determined. "Really, thank you for the ride, but I've always kind of…gotten to where I need to go. I'll be fine from here." I unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door, getting out before he could object. With a clatter, my credit card and ID slid out of my shirt and onto the seat. Hastily, I stuffed the knife out of sight as Ryan picked them up for me.

"Here, you dropped-" He broke off, staring in complete shock at my ID, making me insides do a nervous little dance. He quickly looked up, open mouthed, then back at the image, as if he was comparing me to it.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, trying to stay calm, getting ready to turn and run if I had to. It was making more and more sense to me that I'd been friends with supernatural people; communicating with humans was messy and downright dangerous.

"You—you're—Emma McCann?" He asked weakly, lowering the card.

"Yes?" I said, and Ryan choked. "What's wrong?" I asked, poking my head in the car, wondering what the hell was wrong with him.

"You're my sister!" He spluttered, and I blinked. _WHAT? _I had family? Since when! "Holy shit, you're my sister!" He repeated, looking at me as if he'd never seen anything like me, as if I really was an alien. "Don't you remember?" He demanded weakly, seeing as I was just staring at him, completely nonplussed.

"Amnesia," I repeated softly, tapping my shaved head but looking at Ryan closely. Nobody faked finding their long lost sibling. There was a very real chance that Ryan actually was my brother, and it was totally blowing my mind.

"Holy-" Ryan muttered, frantically undoing his seatbelt and getting out of the car. I got out and closed my door, unsure of what he was doing until he _hugged_ me. Standing barefoot and in hospital clothes in an unknown parking lot, I was being _hugged._ Cautiously, I at least put my arms around him when he didn't immediately let go. "I-I just can't believe it." Ryan said thickly, finally pulling away and hastily swiping at his eyes.

"Funnily enough, neither can I." I joked weakly, still scrutinizing him. He had the same sandy brown/blond hair, and there was something _familiar_ about his eyes, something I couldn't quite place.

"Please, just come home with me, my mom, well, _mom_ will recognize you instantly, and-and- wow." He dashed back around to the driver's side and got in. I got in slower, trying to think but was coming up empty. I had family, people who cared about me. Had I been missing long?

"How long?" I croaked as Ryan started the car. "How long have I been...?" I tried to ask again clearly and failed.

"Gone?" he finished for me, throwing me a tiny smile. "About ten years." As he pulled out of the parking lot, I felt myself fall back against the seat as another wave of shock passed over me. _Ten years?_ That didn't make any sense. I'd only lost my memory for about a week or so! For the rest of the ride, we were silent, Ryan occasionally looking at me in wonder before we pulled up at a ranch-style home just out of town. "_Mom!"_ Ryan yelled, dashing through the door first, leaving me to follow.

"You're late, Ryan." I heard a woman reprimand tiredly.

"Mom, _mom, _look, just look-" He cut himself off as I stepped over the threshold. The house was small and decorated in very earthy brown tones with random splashes of orange; it was very old looking.

"Fine, _what?"_ The woman asked wearily, coming around the corner and freezing as she saw the stranger on her doorstep. "Who is that?" She asked sharply. Transfixed, I looked at her closely, through wide eyes. She had the same nose as me, the same tall frame, the same tiny feet.

"I'm Emma. Emma McCann." I said hoarsely, and the woman let out a half scream, half sob, putting her hands over her face. With some encouragement from Ryan, I stepped further into their living room, closer to the woman who was probably my mother.

"Oh god-" she sobbed, and threw her arms around me. I gingerly returned it, more frustrated by my lack of recognition than anything else. Wouldn't seeing my family again trigger all of my lost memories to return? Shouldn't I feel _some_ emotion towards these people?

"She has amnesia, mom." Ryan prompted quietly, voice thick again as the woman pulled back, lightly cupping my face, looking at me almost worriedly.

"It relapses a lot." I made up a lie on the spot, suddenly unable to stand their presence, their house, this whole city. I was having an overwhelming sense that I didn't _belong_ here, that it would never ever work. "I'm so sorry, but-" My mother ignored me completely, dashing to a bookcase and tugging off a photo album, placing it on the cocktail table and pulling me lightly over.

"See, look. That's you, honey. That's all of us." She flipped it open and pointed to a picture. The mom was younger, a hand on each of her child's shoulders. I looked about ten or so, and Ryan looked younger than that, like, seven. "And, see, here-" she pulled me up again and down into their house, around a corner, and through a door. It was like walking back in time. The walls were a light blue, and there were lots of stuffed animals. The room had obviously belonged to a little girl. "This was your room." She said quietly as I slowly sat on the bed, a tiny puff of dust rising from it as I did so. _Nothing_ was familiar.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, and then quickly got up. "I wish I could stay, but I'm sick." I formed another lie on the spot.

"Then we'll take you to the hospital." Ryan said from the doorway, but I shook my head.

"It's not that simple. I have an advanced stage of cancer, and—and not that much longer to live." My voice came out flat as I thought up another ridiculous lie, but my mom and brother bought it. Both converged on me for a group hug. As I hugged them back, I felt a pang of loss. These poor people's lives had obviously been changed because of me, and I hated that. But deep in my heart, I knew that, somehow, this would be better for them in the long run. If this was any example, my life was too dangerous, too unpredictable. As they embraced me, I decided to cut things off once and for all. Faking, I stiffened suddenly, making both of them pull back. I let my eyes flick around the room and then finally rest on the two of them. "Who are you?" I asked, and the mom gasped softly, taking a step back, pulling Ryan with her. "Oh my god," I breathed, then bolted. As soon as I was out of the house I just booked it, running into the woods behind their property. No one chased after me, and for that, I was grateful. Wincing as my feet pounded over sticks and roots, I charged down a well worn path, then took the left when it forked. Suddenly, I skidded to a stop as something loomed out of the darkness.

At first, I thought it was another group of psycho vampires ready to study me like Genevieve had. Then I squinted, looking closer. The mysterious shape wasn't vampires at all; it was a tree, with an old and slowly decaying tree house in its branches. As I looked at it, a sudden, piercing headache erupted in my skull, making me instantly fall to my knees. It was as if someone had suddenly ripped off the top of my head and was stuffing information into it.

_I was in my own backyard. The tree house in front of me was my own; I'd played in it with Ryan all the time. My brother and I had been inseparable, and the day I disappeared must have broken his heart. I lived in Boston now, with my supernatural family. Rebecca was my long time best friend; Aidan was the amazing vampire I'd come to know. Sally was the ghost who lived in the house, and her sarcasm and wit kept me going. _

_And then there was Josh. _

_**Josh**__, as he'd picked me up and put me on the bathroom sink, kissing me, nuzzling my shoulder. __**Josh, **__and the look on his face when he'd first arrived home to find me in his living room. __**Josh, **__who I'd almost killed with a silver knife._

With a hoarse gasp, I stumbled to my feet as more facts streamed in.

_I'd jumped straight into Carson's house after all that time, seen that he was doing ok, that he still recognized me and cared about me, even after I'd ran out on him like a mad woman. I'd disappeared right in front of his face- what had he done in retaliation?_

_There was Genevieve, a woman I'd only received threats from after I'd started helping one of her men in Paris. I'd somehow made my way into her headquarters; I'd nearly been dissected and studied by her, like an animal. She had known all along where I'd come from and who I was. _

_Roberto, the vampire Bishop had murdered for seeking my help. His death had started all of this._

_A jump was so simple, so easy. I barely had to think about it. I just looked at an object, person or location and __**boom**__, I was there. If I was going long distance, it took about a nanosecond longer. My brain just __**thought **__faster. They weren't scary at all, they were easy to control, and they were useful, even. _

I could go home. I could finally make it back to where I really belonged. Bewildered, I looked up at the old, rotting tree house, wondering why that, of all things, had brought back my memories. Why hadn't the pictures, the faces, the names? Unable to stay longer, I jumped, landing down under the Hospital, in Boston, my home. Bolting, I ran to the stairs and raced to floor six, passing nurses and janitors. Ignoring the questions, I pushed open the door to level six. The place was surprisingly busy for this time of night, but it made it harder for me to pick out Josh. I silently started to fill with anxiety. I didn't know what day it was; was Josh working nights or mornings? How close were we to the full moon? Was he ok? "Miss, can I help you?" A nurse asked me, jerking me out of my thoughts. She was looking at my bizarreness up and down, clearly wondering if I was an escaped patient.

"Is—is Josh working tonight?" I barely heard myself asking.

"The orderly?" The nurse asked, her nose almost wrinkling up in evident distaste.

"_Yes! _Josh, Josh the orderly. Is he working tonight?" I agreed frantically, considering jumping right of front of her to go to the house now and see for myself.

"He's on the eighth floor mopping up—wait!"She called as I instantly sprinted past her, nearly bowling over a man as I threw open the door to the stairwell. Panting, I ran up to the eighth floor and pushed the door open. It was just as crowded and noisy. My eyes flickered down the hallway in front of me, looking for the slightly slumped over posture, his somewhat fluffy hair-

Then I found him. He was way down at the other end, mopping like a zombie. Josh looked absolutely terrible, and it made my heart ache just to look at him. Slowly, I made my feet respond until I was running down the hall, ducking and twisting past other nurses and employees. Frantic to make sure he was real, I slammed into him, almost catapulting us onto the floor. "What the-" he yelped and then he stiffened in shock. Panting too hard to even say anything, I just held onto him for all he was worth, burying my head into his chest to reacquaint myself with his smell. When it clicked in his brain, Josh's arms encircled me tight, and I couldn't help it- I started to cry into his scrubs, shaking from running, shaking with relief; just shaking.


	14. Scared

_Jumper_

**After a long, painful journey, Emma makes her way home. **

_Scared_

There were no other people in the world besides Josh and I. We weren't sprawled across a dirty, wet hospital floor; we weren't surrounded by nurses and staff. The noise around us didn't exist. There was only us- I was lurching with sobs, and he was holding me, holding me tight, trying to murmur encouraging things in my ears, but his voice kept breaking. "Josh, what's going on?" I heard the nurse from level six ask over what felt like a roaring in my ears. Overwhelming sadness, helplessness and regret was like a giant ocean that I was drowning in; the roaring in my ears; the waves beating me down. Josh was the buoy I had to cling to in order to live.

"I-I just need to take her home." Josh said hoarsely by my ear, and he suddenly gathered me up, getting to his feet, still keeping his arms around me.

"Take the next few nights off, alright?" The nurse ordered, sounding unsure and a little scared. Josh carried me out of the hospital, and once we were out of sight, I jumped us home.

"Shhh," Josh encouraged weakly, dropping us onto the couch, rubbing my back. His voice was thick with emotion.

"_Emma?"_ I heard Sally ask in surprise. I couldn't answer her, couldn't convey to Josh what I wanted to say. I wanted to apologize, to beg for forgiveness, to tell him that I loved him more than anything. But all I could do was cry, shake and cling to Josh. I must have done that for what felt like hours before I finally let go and looked up at Josh's face. Up close, he looked even worse, with large, heavy bags, and a thinner more grim face. His hair was disheveled and messy, his eyes slightly hollowed. He looked tortured, broken, and lost, all because of me and my stupidity. If he took me back, it'd be a miracle.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, slowly reaching up with trembling hands to cup his face, to try and smooth away some of the worry and hurt. "I almost killed you. I sold you to Genevieve. I forgot you-I forgot us. I'm sorry."

"No," Josh insisted fiercely, embracing me again. "None of this was your fault. Don't apologize. It's alright. It'll all be ok," He repeated, as if trying to convince the both of us. "Are you ok?" He asked, pulling back and gently rubbing my bald head. I nodded, breaking a sad smile when he passed a few fingers over my cheek, wiping off the salty residue. His fingers traveled down to the large circular burn and his face fell.

"No you're not." Sally said, sounding furious, walking through the coffee table and sitting on it, looking at me with only worry.

"I remember everything, I'm really ok." I tried to reassure her, but she just turned my head and ran one cold, ghostly finger over the circular burn on my neck like Josh had, jerking her hand back when I flinched. "B-Besides that, I'm ok." I tried to say it strongly, but I tripped over the words, knowing that they were lies. I was deathly afraid of losing my memory and the consequences of doing so, and they knew it.

"Sally, can you call Rebecca and Aidan?" Josh asked quietly, and Sally stood up, leaving without another word.

"Where are they?" I asked, meekly letting Josh slip into 'doctor mode' and look me over, making sure that I really was ok.

"Their flight should have landed by now. They went to Moscow." Josh said after a quick look at his watch.

"_Moscow?"_ I repeated, wincing when Josh found the large, heavy, handshaped bruise on my arm from Genevieve yanking me along. "Why did they go to Moscow?"

"Rebecca paid someone to analyze all of the places you jumped to accidentally. It turns out that you follow a pattern. The next place was Moscow." He answered, getting back on the couch and wrapping his arms around me when I burrowed back into his chest.

"I can get them," I mumbled, and Josh tightened his embrace protectively before sighing and letting go as Sally floated in, setting the phone on the coffee table and putting it on its speaker function.

"Emma? Are you there?" Rebecca's voice demanded through the phone.

"Rebecca," I said hoarsely, and I heard her gasp. "It's ok, I remember, I'm home-"

"It's her, Aidan. It really is her," I heard her say tearfully to him off the phone.

"I'll come and get you. Where in Moscow?"

"Khimki, on a street called Уэст-стрит." Rebecca stumbled over the words, unused to Russian. **(West Street)**

"I'll be right back. I promise." I told Josh, hugging him tight, knowing that he was as scared as I was.

"Be careful." He forced out, letting go. Praying to every God out there, I jumped, squeezing my eyes shut. I landed and my feet sank a few inches into soft mud. Khimki was a purely rural part of Moscow, which meant I'd stick out like a sore thumb. Luckily, I could see my two favorite vampires just down the street, waiting anxiously by a bale of hay. Almost instantly, both of their heads whipped around, smelling me. I let them come to me, too tired to jump down there. I needed energy to go home.

"Thank God," Rebecca breathed, giving me a hug, lifting me out of the muck with the force of it. Once she was done, she set me down and immediately looked me up and down.

"What happened there?" Aidan asked for her, finding the bruise on my arm faster than even Josh had.

"Genevieve," I said quietly, and his face turned ugly fast. "Let's go home," I said a bit more forcefully, not wanting him to do anything rash, and not wanting to keep Josh waiting any longer. Both of them put a hand on my shoulders and in seconds we were home. I immediately stood next to Josh, who put an arm around my shoulders and kissed the top of my bald head.

"You should rest," Aidan said after a second, clearly making himself wait for answers. They all wanted to know how I'd escaped; how I'd gotten my memory back. I was grateful that I didn't have to tell them just yet.

"Come on," Josh said, gently steering me up the stairs, and I didn't miss the angry looks on Rebecca and Aidan's faces when they thought I couldn't see them- they were still murderously angry with Genevieve, with Bishop, with all of it. I wish I knew how to make them feel better. I willingly crawled into Josh's bed, and he lay down beside me, putting a reassuring arm across my stomach to ground me. Not liking the fact that I couldn't see his face, I rolled over and scooted into him, into his heat. He twitched a little, I was freezing, but then cuddled me with a sigh. However, it became clear to me that I couldn't relax. I was nervous, paranoid; restless. _Scared._ Josh helped a lot, but I could still picture myself vanishing, and my poor friends would be left trying to find me. It'd be like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands- impossible.

"Are you ok?" Josh asked quietly, noticing that I wasn't drifting off.

"I love you," I responded into his ribcage, and he sucked in a fast breath. Then he kissed the top of my head, somehow pulling me closer. We stayed that way until I eventually fell asleep.

When I woke up, the room was dark. At first, I absolutely flipped out until I felt Josh breathe. I was still at home, still curled up with Josh. My panic slowly died as my eyes adjusted to the dark. I was in Josh's tight, warm embrace, and his face was peaceful in sleep. As I looked at him, I realized that I must have missed a transformation of his while I was away, making me feel even worse. No matter what anyone said, it was _me _who pissed off Bishop and Genevieve; the blame was mine alone. But I was selfish; I'd still stay here with Josh, Aidan, Sally and Rebecca. I wouldn't go back to the normal life I could so easily have with a mother and brother who were so willing to take me. I was going to stay here and in the lives of all the wonderful people who I'd met. I sighed, looking into Josh's serene face, the way his eyebrows were relaxed, his eyelids still, how his nose cast a sloped shadow on his cheek that had a faint five o' clock shadow. It felt like I'd been away forever, and that Josh's face was the most beautiful thing in the world.

**XXXXXXX**

Somehow, I dozed off again, and dreamed that I was back in Genevieve's box, forced to go through all sorts of tests to analyze how my heartbeat reacted to stimuli. Genevieve had a bright orange clipboard, and was wearing a hazmat suit, watching me frantically run on a giant treadmill that was going seventy miles per hour. Every time I slowed down, she shocked me with a tazer. When I looked over in the box next to me, I saw Josh sitting in a dog house, a shock collar around his neck, watching me run with his large, puppy dog eyes…. _"Emma!"_ A voice called, jerking me into reality. My first semi-conscious thought was that someone was holding me, restraining me. I instantly panicked, fighting against their hold. "Emma, it's me, Josh!" The voice repeated, and I blinked, my vision swimming. After a second, Josh came into view, looking a little bemused, but mostly scared. "Are you okay now?" He asked quietly, not loosening his embrace, watching me closely, with those big, puppy dog eyes. Panting, feeling my adrenaline slowly die, I only looked back at him for awhile, rememorizing his face.

"M' fine." I only spoke when I knew my voice would be steady, not breaking our gaze.

"You've slept for awhile." Josh said, changing the subject and slowly letting go, as if he expected me to collapse. "Almost a day or so." He supplied the number of days without me having to ask.

"That long?" I asked quietly, taking Josh's hand and holding it tight, grounding myself.

"That's' why I woke you up. You need to eat something." He said, kissing my knuckles, then my forehead. "Come on," he insisted when I only looked away, pulling me gently out of bed. He walked me downstairs, arm in arm, and sat me down at the kitchen table. As he busied himself with a frying pan, I looked around the kitchen with a warm yet foreign fondness, as if I was visiting this kitchen for the first time and thought it was quaint. I'd missed this place, and the safety that came with it.

"Hey there," Sally appeared, grinning, at the other end of the table, and pulled out a chair for herself and sat.

"Hi," I said tiredly, rubbing my bald head with a sigh, trying to pull myself together.

"Four scrambled eggs, three pieces of toast and a protein shake." Josh announced, plopping my usual breakfast down in front of me.

"Thanks," I said, kissing his cheek as he put the plate on the table. And Sally, being the amazing ghost that she is, made normal conversation with Josh and I, as if my little escapade never happened. It made me feel so normal and safe that I almost forgot my fear. As I was cleaning up, (insisting that I wasn't disabled and that I could do my own dishes) Rebecca and Aidan came home, Aidan still in hospital scrubs. Both of them threw a poop, making me go upstairs and clean up before I started doing housework. Following their advice, but not trusting myself to jump, I did everything by hand, walking up the stairs, turning on the water, stripping, all of it. The shower was weird, especially when I didn't have to use any shampoo, but the main plus was that I got to get into my own comfy clothes (and Josh was waiting for me). We walked back downstairs, arm in arm, and I knew that the icky part was coming—I'd have to explain everything that happened sooner or later. I might as well just get it over with.

"Guys?" I asked, getting their attention as Josh and I came back into the kitchen. They all turned to look at me. For a moment, another huge pang of fear swept through me—they were all I truly had, and to lose them again would be unbearable. But when I looked at them all closely (Aidan's protective arm around Rebecca, Rebecca's concerned gaze, Sally's 'I'm here for you girl' attitude, and Josh's love) I knew that I was strong enough. "It's time I told you what happened."


	15. Home

_Jumper_

**Emma tells them everything, and learns a bit more about her jumps from Rebecca.**

_Home _

"Are you sure? You don't have to tell us now." Sally immediately interjected, and it made me want to smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

"It's better this way." I said, and hearing the tone of finality in my voice, Sally let me continue. "So, from the beginning then," I winced as I said it, thinking of 'the beginning'. Josh instantly wrapped an arm around me, comforting me.

"They already know about how Bishop and Ray found us; I told them that." He said, and I felt a pang of relief. The less I had to tell, the better.

"Bishop had a neodymium magnet, one of the strongest in the world. It was overkill, the smaller one he had would have done damage too. It really hurt," I admitted, sneaking a quick look at Josh. He was the only one alive now that had seen the torture being inflicted on me—and nobody forgets that quickly, if at all. His usually soft eyes hardened, and his grip tightened protectively. "When I woke up, I didn't even know who _I _was. Bishop tricked me into thinking that he and Ray were my friends, and that Josh was the one who hurt me." Even though I knew my vampire friends already knew this, they still hissed angrily at the same time as I spoke. "He gave me his silver knife and told me to kill Josh. I almost did it," I sniffled as I remembered how horrifying that must have been for Josh—and how sick and unjust the whole situation had been.

"It's ok. I could tell that you didn't want to. I thought you'd remembered me when I said we were in love." Josh said encouragingly, which almost blew my mind. I'd nearly _killed_ him, and he was empathizing with me. "What? You got this…_look_ on your face." Josh said, reading something in my expression.

"I knew killing you wasn't right, and that you probably weren't my enemy. It was an elevated sense of déjà vu." I said finally with a shrug, unsure of what to say. I decided to tell him later, in private, the ghostly feeling of being kissed. "Well, um, after that, I went to South Africa, and my old boyfriends' house."

"We know. You dropped my cell phone." Rebecca said, sliding it onto the table. I blinked, having forgotten that she'd made me take her phone in the first place. "Carson contacted us and mailed it back."

"Oh," I said, feeling stupid yet incredibly lucky that I'd dropped it there. "Then, um, I was uncontrolled for awhile—I think I went to a zoo at one point. Then I ended up in this swanky mansion. No one was home, so I helped myself. I found my switchblade, emergency money and ID in my sock, but it didn't really help me that much. It was then that I accidentally jumped into Genevieve's place." I felt my expression grow stony, and Aidan's face got so scary that I had to look away. "She knew who I was the whole time, but she bartered information about who you all were for information on jumpers. When I stopped telling her things and started asking for more answers, she went nuts." With my free hand, I rubbed my bald head, feeling my whole face frown.

"She sent us a picture." Rebecca said, her voice like ice, and handed me a cell phone. Cautious, I flipped it open, remembering that Genevieve had taken my picture at one point. It took me a moment to even recognize myself. I looked alien, hooked up to all of the monitors and dressed all in sterile white, freshly shaved. My face is what had me the most transfixed. I'd never really been an angry person, but my face in the picture was _furious, _incensed even. It was unearthly, almost. Without a word, I handed the phone back to her, struggling to keep my face neutral.

"Once—Once I could focus enough, I tried jumping to Boston, having seen that on my driver's license and getting the info from Genevieve. She freaked out when she saw I was escaping, and it knocked me off course." I paused, this was where the story got nasty. "I ended up in Waverly, New York."

"But that's so close!" Sally burst out, having somehow stayed silent this whole time.

"I was walking down this rural road, and this guy in his car offered me a ride. I accepted for two reasons." I said, and hastily went to list them when I saw Aidan's face darken again—he really was like a father figure. "One, he had familiar eyes, kind of like Josh's, and two, I still had my knife. I could tell he was human, and I could at least jump away from him at this point. He dropped me off in town, and as I was going to get out of his car, I dropped my ID. He picked it up and flipped out, claiming I was his long-lost sister. He had the same hair as me, and when I went to his house, _our _mother also looked like me. They had pictures and everything."

All hell broke loose.

"You met your _family?"_ Sally exclaimed.

"What did you do?" Aidan asked.

"_WHAT?" _Josh gasped.

"You finally found them, after all these years?" Rebecca asked, tearing up.

"I knew right away though that something was wrong. My brother told me I'd been gone for ten years, but I knew that I'd only lost my memory for a short period of time. Somehow, I _sensed _that I couldn't stay. So I faked another round of amnesia and ran away." I said, shamefaced, looking only at the table.

"I mean, what would you tell them?" Sally said strongly. "I think you did the right thing."

"Yeah," Rebecca agreed quickly. "Things would happen to you that you couldn't explain to them. They'd figure it out that something isn't totally right with you."

"Thanks," I said sarcastically, starting to grin, and Rebecca laughed.

"Can you imagine their faces when you accidentally got lazy one day and jumped yourself a box of cereal or something? I remember when you did it to me." She said, and I laughed along with her, remembering how blown away Rebecca had been by my skill when we first met. It's probably what kept her from trying to suck me dry.

"So, you ran away." Aidan prompted, wanting the whole story.

"I ran out onto their property, into the backyard. We had about an acre, and it was all woods. Then, somehow, by fate, I guess, I stumbled upon the old tree house my brother and I used to play in when we were kids. All it took was one look, and I suddenly started remembering things. I still don't understand it." I said, frowning as I remembered the feeling of memories, facts and dates filling my brain back up until I felt whole. It was unearthly. It was _weird. _

"So you looked at a tree house and then, _boom_, that was it? You remembered everything?" Josh repeated in disbelief.

"I know, right? You'd think that one look at you would bring me back, but no, it was some rotting, broken down old tree house that did it."

"Spooky." Sally said, and I nearly started laughing at the fact that a ghost was saying that.

"As soon as I knew the urgency of my situation, I jumped to the hospital to find you," I told Josh, and he smiled sadly, rubbing my bald head. "I just wanted it all to be over, so I kind of, um, plowed you down. Sorry about that." I apologized, but he just shook his head and kissed my knuckles. "And that's what happened." I said, and for a moment, there was silence. "What's happened _here?_ Besides Rebecca finding out I'm not a total lunatic after all." I said, and my family looked at each other.

"Nothing, really," Rebecca said finally, looking more miserable than I'd ever seen her. "We missed you—_a lot_, but we couldn't find you, and when we knew where you were, we couldn't go and get you. I had this horrible idea in my head that you'd get as lost as you did the day you 'left' home, and I couldn't bear that."

"We missed a transformation, didn't we?" I asked Josh after smiling sadly at Rebecca, touched by how much she cared. My heart swelled with love for my family—they were the first true family I'd ever really known, one that I could tell anything and everything to, and one that took my freakiness as total normality.

"Yup," Josh said, being uncharacteristically brief, which told me instantly that he'd had a bad experience. I cuddled into him a little, to comfort him and to ground myself, to remind myself that even though I was still a little shaky, I needed to be here for Josh and for everyone around me. It wasn't everyday that you had two vampire friends who would murder other, more powerful creatures for you, a werewolf boyfriend who loved you with all his human being, and a ghost who was like your sister, constantly offering support when I could offer her none. We sat in silence for awhile at the dining room table, just happy in the presence of each other. It felt weird to have such freedom. I didn't have to worry about where I'd just gone to, and what I'd be forced to do next. It was nice.

"What will Genevieve do to all of you? To _me_?" I asked finally, and Josh flinched visibly as if I'd yelled at him. Rebecca and Aidan looked at each other. "And I want the truth," I tacked on, seeing the reluctance in my two vampire friends.

"She might send someone here to try and find you, with the probable intent on killing us and taking Josh back to Paris. Since she already has some good data on you, she'd either keep you for more detailed observation or she'd kill you on the spot." Aidan said in a rather composed voice.

"Oh," I said into the stinging, tension filled silence. "What are the chances that she'll do that?"

"It very well depends on if she's searching the globe for you, and if she's studying the data she already has. If she's not doing either of those, it's very probable that she will. Bishop went to her to find out more about jumpers like you, and judging by what you've told us, she knows _a lot. _But Genevieve always wants more. She'll want to try and find a way to stop you from jumping, to learn how you do it, and to find a way to let others who aren't born into it do it as well." Rebecca said bitterly.

"But you're safe here, Emma, that's a promise. Vampires can't enter a dwelling unless invited. If they do, they start on fire. It'd be too easy for us to get away at that point. Even if you aren't at home, they'll always be someone with you." Aidan promised, and I nearly started crying right there. I forced myself to keep a level head- we had to discuss all this crap now or I'd never have the guts to try again.

"Do you think they'd go after my _real _family?" I asked, and Aidan shook his head.

"You have no ties with them that Genevieve knows of. Even if she looked up your last name, she wouldn't find anything. There are hundreds of McCann's in the Boston area."

"Final question," I said after a moment of thinking, absentmindedly rubbing the arm Josh had over me. "Will they target any one of you personally_?" _

"Josh, maybe, because Genevieve expressed an interest in werewolves. Other than that, I doubt it." Aidan said, but I noticed how his left eyebrow just slightly twitched- he was lying. Genevieve would want him and Rebecca out of the way, especially because they killed Bishop, a vampire she created.

"Come on," Josh said, standing up and giving me a hand up too, as if I was made of glass. "Let's just go chill for awhile." He said this firmly as he led me out of the room, from the doom and gloom. He plopped us down on the couch I'd cried my eyes out on, stretching his legs out onto the coffee table. I had to slouch lower than him to make it, but I propped my feet up next to his, looking at his bare, slightly hairy foot next to my smaller pale one.

"Remember that time we fell asleep handcuffed to each other?" I asked him, and he chuckled, the vibrations passing through my chest.

"When you fell asleep, I got a little excited. I'd had such a huge crush on you by that point that you were fulfilling all my dreams right there." Josh admitted.

"It was easy to fall asleep on you. You're comfy, and _warm._" I said, nudging his arm with mine to prove my point.

"I'm also a dangerous werewolf…occasionally." He tacked on when I glared up at him for the self-hatred pouring from his mouth.

"But you won't be, now that you're dating a crazy girl who randomly disappears for no reason." I shot back, and he frowned, kissing my bald head.

"Truce?" He offered. We both knew that we could continue on like this forever if we really felt like it.

"Truce," I agreed, snuggling closer to him and closing my eyes. He was here with me, my family was fine, and, for the moment, we were safe. _I was home. _


	16. Back to the Past

_Jumper_

**Josh and Emma dive into each other's pasts.**

_Back to the Past_

Within a week, I was almost completely back to normal. The burn on my neck faded to a faint white circle, and my hair started to grow back. I lost a lot of my fear of disappearing as I slowly started to jump around the house. I was still full of anxiety, and apparently was now a restless sleeper. But the most important thing was that I was moving on. Genevieve didn't storm into the house, and Josh and I were inseparable when he wasn't working. Aidan and Rebecca insisted that Josh and I each carry a stake with us for our own protection, and this time I didn't disagree with them. They'd warned me about going out when I'd pissed Bishop off, and I was stupid enough not to listen.

Even though I was a bit scared to leave the safety of home, Josh needed the practice with me to calm his inner wolf. It was my priority, first and foremost, to make him comfortable with his condition, or as comfortable as Josh could get. The room brought back horrible, _horrible _memories, but it was as clean and empty as I had remembered it being before Bishop's attack. Josh and I actually started spending a lot of time in there, and we got to talking about our pasts, both of which were touchy subjects for the both of us. On a particular day, we got to talking about the day I'd jumped from home to Belize, losing my memory in the process. "What happened then?" Josh asked quietly. We were sprawled out on the floor, his head propped up by our jackets. I was resting on his chest, running a finger over the plaid print of his flannel shirt.

"I was arrested." I responded, and Josh made an angry noise. I increased the pressure of my hand on his chest to keep him from getting up. "I'd destroyed the man's property and caused a scene. I held up the entire market for about an hour until they got me away from the magnets. At that point, I had nothing to pay them back with, and I didn't speak a word of Spanish. I was what- ten? Since I couldn't tell them anything, they just put me in prison. It was actually the safest place for me."

"I can't believe that they just put you in prison like some criminal! Didn't anyone care that you were just a kid?" Josh asked, rubbing my back, but I could feel the tension in his frame.

"They figured my parents would call the local government and the police when they found I was missing, assuming that we were vacationing in Belize. They couldn't put me in an orphanage, so, where else would they have put me? It really was okay, it was, because I had food and shelter and time to think about what had happened to me." I reassured Josh, but I could tell that it still made him angry.

"What did you remember at that point?" He asked a moment later. I sighed.

"I knew that I was supposed to have parents, a family, because they kept asking me if I had one. I had a library card in my pocket that had my name on it. If I didn't I wouldn't have known who _I _even was. For awhile, I wasn't even sure if it was mine. It didn't have a picture on it, so I couldn't be sure. But I didn't remember my family or my past life in the US. In prison, I practiced jumping until I had it under control."

"How long did that take?" Josh asked softly. I turned the corner on the design in his shirt and started over.

"Almost a year. It wasn't as bad as you think, though. It really wasn't." I said firmly, remembering how I'd felt very secure in my cell- and it's not like I was treated as a murderer. I'd been given some freedoms that the regular inmates didn't have. "One day, I finally had the guts to jump out and leave. I'd heard the inmates talking about Mexico City, so I went there. I helped a vendor's wife weave baskets and they paid me after awhile. I used that money to get a small flat. It didn't take me long to notice the supernatural activity. There were lots of vampires, even though it gets very hot and bright there."

"You started working with vampires when you were _eleven_?" Josh asked in shock, and I gave him a little hug.

"I told you I had experience. My age helped though- no vampire, no matter how bloodthirsty, _wanted _to kill a child. Their hesitation gave me plenty of time to get out of harm's way. It was hard because I didn't know Spanish, and there was no one to really teach me. But, as usual, some vampires got mad at me and chased me out with magnets. They didn't hurt me as bad as I had been," I reassured Josh quickly, feeling him stiffen again, "but I did have some short term memory loss. Not remembering that I actually lived in Mexico City, I went to Paris. I got pretty good at French, and it was there that I made those damn business cards. I helped out quite a few werewolves who were trying to form a pack outside of Bordeaux. I stayed there for almost four years. Surprisingly, I helped a lot of them, almost every single one before I decided I had to move on. I'd been helping a vampire on the side who belonged to, surprise, Genevieve. We never met in person, but she sent me some very threatening messages. So, I moved." I propped myself up to look at Josh. He was looking at the ceiling, brows furrowed, thinking.

"Where did you go after Paris?" He asked, not looking at me.

"Africa. I'd always wanted to go. That's where I met Carson, and, despite my better judgment, started to date him. When I wasn't pretending to be normal, I was helping vampires and a few werewolves here and there. I also met a guy who was completely made of sand. After awhile, we figured out how to shift him into glass or rock. It didn't really help his situation, but he was happy. Carson and I moved together further into the city, and I ran into a lot of ghosts there- including the guy who was blowing up those poor kittens. One night after a long day of work, I came home, tripped over Carson's cat, and bashed my head on the fridge. There were magnets on it, and I lost my short term memory again. I freaked out and jumped to Peru." I said, settling back down on Josh's chest, resuming my tracing of the pattern. "In South America I did a lot of work with ghosts. But, as usual, someone got mad at me and chased me out. From there, I wanted people who were a bit more civilized. I went to Canada, where I met Rebecca in Vancouver. At first, like most people, she didn't want my help- thought I was too young. But I kept bugging her until she agreed. We were friends ever since. Once I got her under control, she begged me to go with her to Boston- said she'd find clients for me there, and that she needed support seeing a past love of hers. I agreed- we were best friends, I couldn't let her down. Besides, I couldn't remember the last time I was in the US anyway."

"And the rest is history," Josh said, sounding a lot more composed. We sat up slowly, looking at each other.

"What about you?" I asked, fiddling with his shoelace. "You said when I first mentioned Carson that 'it happened to me' or something like that." I said, pushing a question that I'd had in my head for a long time. Apparently, Josh had been in love before he came to Boston. Josh hesitated, biting his lip, then sighed, crumpling a little in defeat.

"I lived just outside of Boston. I still lived with my folks when I met Catherine. She was a great girl- smart, funny, unbelievably beautiful. She loved me for me. Two days after we got engaged, I was bitten. When I realized what I was, I knew I couldn't stay. It was—it was really hard just packing up and leaving, disappearing. I had everything, and I had to throw it away." Josh said quietly, and I hugged him, hearing the catch in his voice. I felt absolutely horrible for him- he had the perfect normal life until _Ray. _"I moved to Boston, uh, tried to use my credits I'd earned at the college I was going to, trying to be hired at the hospital as a nurse. I didn't have enough, so I was given the job as an orderly." Josh continued, and I felt a pang of anger. He was smart enough to be a nurse and they had him mopping up all kinds of bodily fluids? What kind of a hospital did he _work _for?

"Where did you change?" I prompted him quietly as Josh stopped talking, looking at the floor between us with sad eyes.

"Out in the woods. I wasn't at all prepared, and I'd always have to find, well, steal clothes in the morning, get home, shower, and get to work on time. It was hard- and I was depressed. I couldn't keep blaming myself- I had to move on, but I didn't know how. Then I met Aidan. I was getting beat up by vampires outside in an alley and he called them off. He even stitched me up, not caring that I was a werewolf. It took us awhile to trust each other, but once we realized we worked at the same place and had a lot of the same problems, we decided to rent together."

"And the rest is history," I mimicked him, and he smiled at me, all traces of previous sadness gone.

"And the rest is history." He agreed, giving me a hand up and kissing my fuzzy head.

**OoOoOoO**

Two weeks later, I was completely over my fear, at least on the outside, where my family could see it. I was itching to go out, to live. I really wanted to get a real job, to help bring in money for Aidan and Josh. Usually I just well, stole whatever I needed, jumping it from a store or safe. Now that I had something worth being around for, I wanted to be careful and honest, just like the people I was living with. Unfortunately, Aidan, Josh, Rebecca and Sally weren't quite ready for me to get out. "I'll just stake anyone who tries to mess with me! I'll jump away!" I said for the umpteenth time, sitting on the kitchen table and looking at the judges who would have the ultimate decision if I could leave.

"You tried that before, and it didn't work." Sally pointed out for the third time.

"That's because Josh was there with me." I said wearily for the third time as well. We'd argued like this so many times, I almost had it memorized. "When I'm out on my own, I can handle myself."

"I'm still not sure," Rebecca said, fulfilling her line. In irritation, in a nano-second, I jumped my stake to my hand and in front of Aidan, the tip of it hovering an inch above his jacket. He started and then wisely held still.

"_Seriously." _I said, backing off, jumping the stake back to my pocket and patting Aidan gingerly on the back. "I can do this. It'll be very close to home and I'll have my stake."

"Fine," Josh said in defeat. "There hasn't been even a trace of Genevieve around here. None of us have been followed or threatened. I think its ok." He defended himself when he saw Rebecca's furious glare.

"_Thank you! _I mean, this is going to be super great, I'll actually be making money, and I can cheat at work when no one is looking and jump stuff so that I'm a better worker and everyone will think that I'm normal and-" I started excitedly.

"Enough, Emma!" Sally said, laughing at my happiness. "We get it. You really wanted to get a job, and now you are."

"_Be safe. _Please, for my nerves." Rebecca pleaded.

"I will," I said, feeling my happiness vanish and my face frown. I was determined to have a normal life, no matter what was thrown in my way. Genevieve would not keep me from living my life.

* * *

**What? Another update? Yup, I'm spoiling you all. The reason? I'm going to be gone for almost a month, and my account will probably be on hiatus for that long. I leave 07/16/11 for Europe! I'm trying to update everything I'm working on really well before I leave as an apology and peace offering to all of you amazing readers. Especially you, WaffleNinja. Your review made me _really_ happy. Just you wait- they'll be some plot twisters thrown in there. Also, if you want some updates that aren't necessarily fanfiction related from me, you should find my Tumblr blog that's devoted to my fanfictions and all my nerdy obsessions from fanfiction. **

**blackorchestrafreak**


	17. Balance

_Jumper_

**Genevieve studies, analyzes and plots. Emma and Josh, on the other hand, get close.**

_Balance_

When my jumper prize escaped, I wanted to destroy my lab. I wanted to burn the whole place down and kill all of my associates. My fury was all consuming until I felt myself become obsessed. I would study Emma, learn everything I could from her, and at the same time search the globe. But first, before anything else, I needed intel. I had to find out more about her. I needed spies. I stored my anger to fuel me for the coming months. I'd need it to be successful. I sent out my henchmen to canvass the world, looking for any trace of Emma, anything to do with jumpers. If I had to capture every jumper in the world to find her, I would. There would be no hiding, no escape.

I considered kidnapping her friends, especially the werewolf, to lure her to me. But it was a stupid idea- I had no proof that she even remembered the filthy creature. It was frustrating that I couldn't make _her _come to _me. _Undeterred, however, I immediately set to work sending all of the results from Emma through intense computer analysis. I spent weeks at a time in the lab, studying, fascinated. Then, I had a breakthrough. It was very unexpected, but the information was so new, so _shocking_, I knew that I was the only one in the world who knew what I'd just discovered. At first glance, Emma's brain had simply appeared to be inflamed. However, when I looked at the data from the probes I had on Emma's head, there was none. They'd been attached to her head for days, and yet the machine had recorded nothing. I tried it out on myself and it worked, so it wasn't mechanical failure. Then, as quick as a bolt of lighting, I understood. Emma's brain was charged with electricity, like a magnet. It was unlike any electricity on Earth- it had the power to wipe a machine clear of data, one that was used to measuring electric pulses in the brain. _That's _why magnets had such a strong affect on jumpers. It interfered with the magnetic field created by their brains, explaining the memory loss as well.

Flushed with victory, I celebrated with a glass of absinthe from the sixteenth century when I was interrupted, but for good reason. My associates had discovered a man in Spain who had been bragging rather loudly to a friend that he'd been paid fabulously by a woman who sounded just like Rebecca to analyze a set of geographical points. He'd blabbed about how they followed the Earth's magnetic fields. The coincidence had been too great, and they 'questioned' him, finding out that it _had_ been Rebecca. The nerd had even kept a copy of the data, feeling empowered by his great find. My men also disposed of the college nerd, to keep things tidy. The data made sense to me instantly- not only was Emma's mind affected by magnetism, it was _directed _by it. When she wasn't specifying a location, she followed a magnetic path.

If her ability was controlled and affected by magnetism, I wondered what an _absence _of magnetism would do to her. Ideas flowed through my mind in a constant stream, and I was itching to get my hands on her, to run tests, to discover her secrets. With a more specific header, I sent my men on the path of points that Emma would go to. They heard lots of stories of the magically appearing angel or demon (depending on who you asked) that would always vanish soon afterwards. My men even saw a jumper appear and disappear in seconds, but no sign of Emma herself. While they searched, I analyzed her bone structure. Her bones were much thinner than normal bones, and a lot less dense, and, yet, her body had no trouble being held up. When I reviewed the MRI's, I determined that everything in her body was lighter, more compact, more efficient. It was like her body was made to disappear. I looked at her blood a lot more carefully, going strand by strand through her DNA. There was a strange amount of cobalt in there, which was _a magnetic metal. _It was one of the three elements that were ferromagnetic at room temperature.

It was beautiful. Her body worked together seamlessly, efficiently. All of the pieces were coming together…except for Emma herself. I had men stationed at every point of hers on the globe, and yet there was no sign of her. Had she settled somewhere off the grid, started to be normal again? Did she have new friends, new alliances that would keep her from me? She was going to drive me to insanity and back again, but I knew it would all be worth it. I was patient. You had to be if you were going to live for six hundred years.

**OoOoOoO**

"Oh—oh-oh my god," Josh stuttered. He was flat on his back in the room, almost completely naked. I was straddling him, nipping gently at his earlobe. Now that it was ok for me to use any tool necessary to calm Josh's inner wolf, I used lust the most often. It was a powerful, primal emotion, one that animals felt more strongly than relaxation or anger. Every animal had the desire to mate- especially wolves. Josh really had no complaints, much to my amusement.

"Relax," I breathed by his ear, making him shiver slightly. "Let it out, you can't hurt me." The only problem with the sex method was that now that Josh knew what lust did to him, he _still _resisted it, even when he was given the opportunity to have sex. He was still awkward and afraid of hurting me. To push him into action, I pushed my hips into his. It was like a trigger for Josh. As soon as I did that, he immediately sprung into action. He bolted up, cradled me gently, and lay me on the floor, yet managing to kiss me in earnest at the same time. He let just enough of his body weight fall on me to leave me craving more. His kisses seemed to go on forever, which had me breathing through my nose and distracting him so that I could breathe. Purrs rumbling through his chest now- we were suddenly against a wall. Josh ripped off his boxers with unnecessary force, and then got off my clothes, destroying them to shreds.

Then, in a manner that left me breathless, Josh pushed into me _hard. _It was more than 'animalistic' sex. It was raw, as if it was something Josh had to do, more than an urge. A mix of purrs and low, relaxed growls went through him constantly, even when he was kissing me. It was strangely fascinating to watch him- it was like he was a different creature altogether when he was lost in emotion. His level of passion made me feel separate from him somehow, like I was only observing him have sex with me. It was _weird. _It seemed to go on forever. He was like a dog, literally, just going at me without any hesitation. His pace never slowed. We went from the wall to the floor to the door and then back to the wall again until I finally decided to stop him. He might have wolf-ness guiding him during sex, but I was normal, and I couldn't be fucked endlessly.

"Josh," I gasped as he gripped my back, his nails leaving scratch marks. He purred loudly in response, pushing harder. "Josh- stop. Stop it," I tried to say in a clear voice, but his power took my breath away. "_Josh." _I raised my voice and his pace started to slow, but didn't stop. Out of options, I grabbed the back of his head by the hair and jerked it back, hoping that the feeling of his jugular being exposed would snap him into reality. Unfortunately, it had quite the opposite effect. He growled enthusiastically and picked up again, rougher this time, kissing me until my head spun. His wolf liked it rough. _Great._ With a sigh, I jumped out of the room, getting dressed painfully as I heard Josh whimper at first, confused, and then go silent as he came back to himself. There were scratches all over my back, arms and hips. They weren't deep and he hadn't drawn blood- they were more like welts. I was also sore beyond belief. He was literally an animal when he went that far. I had first learned of this technique in France with the werewolves, but two werewolves had always gone at it, not a werewolf and a human, and now I knew why.

"Josh?" I called, peeking through the little window. He was buttoning his pants, looking like mildly surprised as he looked at his first pair of destroyed boxers on the floor. Seeing that he was normal, I jumped back into the room.

"What did I _do?"_ Josh asked, sounding confused as he stooped to pick up the remains of my shirt, finding them not far away from his underwear.

"You got really into it," I summarized, watching him closely. There was no trace left of the rough, passion filled animal who I'd just had sex with. He was completely normal; it was a day and night change for him that unsettled me.

"Did I hurt you?" Josh asked his trademark question, and I hesitated.

"_You _didn't." I specified, and he groaned, coming over and gently holding my shoulders, scrutinizing me, looking for injury. "Here," I sighed, and lifted my shirt. Josh's jaw hit the floor as he looked at the criss-crossing lines going down my back and over my hips, vanishing at the waist of my pants.

"Oh my god!" He cried in shock, turning me around and looking at my bare back. "I did that? Why? I don't even remember that, oh my god, those look like they hurt- I'm so sorry, oh my god-" He started to panic then, running a finger over the lines.

"Josh, it's _okay. _Seriously. They'll vanish soon," I promised, turning around and cupping his face to keep his attention. "You're wolf really likes me, we've established that, but I don't think we can go any farther. It's starting to identify me as its mate." I said with a straight face, and Josh's eyes nearly fell right out of his head. He struggled for words as with a sharp stinging, the scratch-marks on my back healed. With a duller, more insistent pain, my body started to heal fully from Josh.

"_What?" _Josh squeaked finally.

"Your wolf wants me to be its mate." I repeated. "I can tell by how…in to me it really is."

"Uh," Josh said, eyes frozen on my face. "Is that a good thing?"

"Yes and no," I responded, taking his hand. "It's good because your wolf won't want to hurt me now, and I love you."

"What's the bad news?" Josh asked with a hint of anxiety. I grimaced.

"When I'm in the room with you as a wolf…you might want to mate with me in wolf form, which is obviously impossible." I squeezed Josh's hand for comfort when he was silent. "We'll work it out, I promise." I told him, and he hugged me tight. His reaction was pretty good for him, but it left me a little worried. The idea of him trying to have sex with me when he was actually a wolf was probably pretty horrifying to him. I had no idea how to comfort him, but I could distract him. "Look, see? All gone," I said, breaking his embrace after a minute and lifting my shirt. It was true. My back was only slightly pink now- no welts were left. I still didn't know how I'd suddenly discovered how to jump new cells over a wound to heal myself, but I wasn't complaining.

"Ok," Josh said after a deep breath. "Ok. Let's go home." I took his hand and then we were home, standing in the living room.

"Jeez, you guys took forever." Sally said pointedly from the couch, waggling her eyebrows. When I went to buy birth-control for when I was training Josh, the whole house found out that Josh and I were having lots of rough sex. Sally could, and probably would never let that fact go.

"Your point, Sally?" I asked calmly, and Sally sniggered. I'd absolutely forbidden her from coming to spy on us- that was just too creepy. Even if Sally thought that it would be funny to surprise us, she didn't want to see us, not when Josh got the way he did.

"The point was that we were worried." Rebecca said from the stairs, appearing there with Aidan.

"I smell blood," Aidan said instantly, and I frowned. Damn it. Damn his vampire sense of smell.

"What? You said you were fine!" Josh panicked, rounding on me. "Are you ok, what's wrong, where are you hurt?" I felt my face start to flush as he got more and more panicked. This was going to be awkward, but I had to say it.

"I'm _fine." _I choked out, crossing my arms. "It was just a little rough is all." I thought I was going to die right on the spot in embarrassment as Josh spluttered, turning bright red. Aidan and Rebecca made 'icky' faces and Sally started laughing hysterically.

"What? Josh? No way," Sally gasped, overcome with giggles. Josh flushed darker, if possible. The dull ache in my midsection suddenly vanished.

"It's gone, right?" I asked Aidan, and he nodded, looking mortified. "See? Everything is cool. Can we please stop talking about this before I die from embarrassment?"

"Sort of. I know that you guys are working really hard, but I was still worried. You were gone longer than usual, and, well, I'm still anxious." Rebecca summed up, playing with her hands.

"We might as well tell them," I told Josh, who was just starting to become coherent again. "There's no use delaying." I said firmly when a look of terror briefly crossed his face.

"What's wrong?" Aidan demanded, immediately assuming that something was wrong.

"Is Emma pregnant?" Sally gasped, looking absolutely delighted, but I just silently shook my head, not bothering to tell her off. She loved the fact that we were a couple, and I didn't want to spoil her fun too much.

"My wolf, um, thinks that Emma, uh, is its mate." Josh spluttered finally, and dead silence filled the room. I squeezed Josh's hand, sensing how uncomfortable he was.

"Wow," Rebecca said finally, sounding way too composed for the situation.

"I mean, it's not a bad thing. I love Josh, it's not like I'm going anywhere. It'll just make things a little easier and yet a little more difficult." I said, and when my two vampire friends only looked at me in confusion, I knew I'd have to give them all the gory details, even if Josh and I didn't want to. Rebecca and Aidan were persistent- they'd find out eventually. With a sigh, I explained to the floor that Josh might try to have sex with me when he was a wolf, unable to look at Rebecca, Aidan and Sally or even Josh as I spoke.

"Ew," Sally said, sounding like she was trying not to laugh again.

"_Sally!"_ Rebecca chided. "This isn't funny! Emma could _die!"_

"Well, no," I interjected, but neither of them were listening.

"That's just so…_ew._" Sally continued, screwing her eyes shut as she and her over active imagination started to think about it.

"It's a little weird, but it's not going to happen, so," I continued, but again, they ignored me.

"This is serious! What if Josh hurt her, scratched her, bit her? Emma isn't a wolf- she can't take it!" Rebecca raised her voice at Sally, but I knew she was angry at me, not at Sally, not even at Josh. Josh, on the other hand, misinterpreted her words and lowered his head in shame.

"_HEY!"_ I said loudly, and Sally and Rebecca finally shut up. "Josh and I both know the risks. We've decided to hold off on the current method for awhile, and go back to relaxation. I'll always be faster than him, so there is a miniscule chance of getting myself hurt. And, yeah, the idea is a little weird, but it will never happen, so there's no need to think about it any longer than necessary." I said firmly.

"As long as you're careful." Aidan said finally, like a parent who was letting his children take the car and go out for the night.

"Yes, _Dad._" I teased, and squeezed Josh's hand.


	18. Little White Lies

_Jumper_

**Josh, when pushed, finds the courage to reconnect with his family- and brings Emma along for the ride. **

_Little White Lies_

"See? Nothing happened." I said proudly, raising my hands in victory. It was about eighty thirty at night on a Wednesday, and I was home from my first day of work. Now that Aidan and Rebecca had cooled down some about Genevieve and I'd lost a lot of my fear for her, I'd applied at the local deli and was accepted. It was five minutes away from the house, within walking (or sprinting) distance, which helped put everyone's mind at ease. I'd forced everyone to stay at home, insisting that nothing would happen if I walked home by myself. It had taken a lot of convincing, but if I was armed with a stake, a taser and a cell-phone, I could walk to and from work alone. These excursions also proved that, for the moment, I wasn't being tracked by Genevieve.

"Still," Sally grumbled as I gave Josh a kiss in welcome, scrunching up my nose when he ruffled my stubby hair energetically, vicariously thrilled that I wasn't being stalked by a psycho-murderess-vampire.

"I'm happy for you," Rebecca said with a genuine smile, yet her eyes retained the smallest sparks of doubt and worry, but Rebecca was a worry-wart. In all the time that I'd known her I'd never seen her completely at ease.

"It's really good that you can leave safely- because I have an idea." Aidan announced, and Josh's smile quickly faded. Usually Aidan's ideas were exactly what needed to be done, even if no one liked it. Josh was protective of me, now more than ever, and I knew he was thinking of a million nasty things Aidan 'wanted' me to do.

"Run for the hills!" Sally cried, darting out of the room only to reappear next to Aidan, smirking at his annoyed expression.

"Okay, what is it?" Josh sighed, resigned, wrapping an arm around me in the process, as if to shield me from whatever Aidan was about to say.

"You should take Emma to meet your parents." Aidan said factually, and for a moment, there was silence as Josh just blinked, standing there in shock. "Think about it! You have a lot more control, and you'll be prepared. You haven't seen your parents in awhile, and they'll rest easier at night knowing that you're safe and with a nice girl."

"Aw, thanks, Aidan." I said, perking up at his compliment. "I think it's a great idea!"

"What about—there's no way—_why?" _Josh breathed finally, fighting down an anxiety attack at the very thought of going home.

"You owe it to your family, Josh. Last time you were there you told them very seriously you were a werewolf after running around like a mad-man with a wooden stake for about fifteen minutes." Aidan continued strongly, and Josh winced. "Then you left and haven't sent a word to them since. It's worth a shot and has perfect timing."

"I'll be there the whole time. If you're uncomfortable, we'll split." I said, giving his hand a squeeze, bubbling with the idea of meeting his parents.

"What will I tell them?" Josh asked finally, but I could see that his resolve was breaking.

"_Oooh! _Tell them that you were testing lines for a play on them to see their reactions!" Sally and her imagination thought up a scenario in seconds, before Aidan, Rebecca or I could even open our mouths. "Yeah, and when you rightly gave up the idea you met Emma at a bus stop in Boston. Emma, you are recovering from, um, I don't care pick your kind of cancer, and you've settled Josh down a bit."

"Wow, that's not too bad, actually." Rebecca said, and I snorted with laughter.

"A _play? _We have to do better than that—but the rest was good, very poetic." I complimented Sally and she beamed in appreciation.

"Well, what else is crazy enough to fit the whole werewolf thing? No offense, Josh," Rebecca defended, and Josh shrugged, sticking his free hand in his pocket.

"You were high," Sally continued dramatically, looking dreamily off into the distance. "And Emma has brought you back from the brink of your own destruction." The ridiculously emotional excuses Sally was coming up with made me make a mental note to keep her from watching so many romance movies on TV.

"Excuse me, I need to go vomit," Aidan said, and I snickered.

"I like that better than the idea of me writing a play, though. That's a little…flowery." Josh said, wrinkling his nose, making me full out laugh at his expression.

"We can lay it on real thick. Besides, if they think I'm recovering from cancer they'll be a bit softer on you. I think." I said, seeing doubt on his face. "I think…you know, breast cancer seems really good right now." I said, and Josh just looked at me, completely taken aback by my frankness about such a deadly disease.

"That's sick, but it'll work." Rebecca said finally, eyebrows raised.

"Awesome, here's the phone." Sally said eagerly, carrying the phone carefully over and handing it to Josh. He hesitated, bit his lip, but then took the phone.

"Give us a moment," I told Sally, Rebecca and Aidan, and they turned and left, heading for the kitchen or upstairs, grinning at each other. I led Josh over to the couch and plopped down on it, patting the spot next to me. He sat slowly, turning the phone over in his hand. I knew that it was hard for him to be in contact with his family because of what he was. It had ruined everything between them and could still cost them the ultimate price- their lives. He had every right to be nervous and I knew that it depressed him greatly that he had to break away from his parents, sister, and life. "Take your time," I said quietly, putting an arm around him and resting my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes. For awhile, Josh just sat on the couch with me, running a thumb over my knuckles. Then, with certainty, he turned on the phone and dialed a number by heart, putting it to his ear.

"Hey, Mom," he greeted his mother ten seconds later, and winced a little as she said something to him. "I'm sorry," He apologized instantly, and I didn't dare look at his face. Instead, I looked at our clasped hands, waiting. "I know, I know. I wasn't myself." Josh said, his grip tightening on my hand. "I-I was doing drugs. A lot. But I'm doing a lot better now, and well, I thought I owed you an apology and an explanation. I owe you a lot more than that, but that's all I can give you right now." Josh said, and his voice cracked, showing how stressed he was. His mother said something, and he relaxed slightly. "Thanks, thanks, Mom." He said quietly, and I looked closer at his hands, trying to keep calm, for his sake. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out for dinner sometime." He continued, and then held the phone away from his ear as a loud exclamation came from it.

Sally appeared in the doorway, but I shooed her away, afraid that she'd distract Josh when he was having such a delicate conversation. "You don't have to do that, Mom, especially if it'll alienate Dad," Josh continued and then listened closely to whatever his mother was saying. "If that's what you want, I'll do it. I just have one question. Can I bring my girlfriend?" He again leaned away from the phone as his mother very clearly squealed at what he'd just said.

"Can you? I'd be delighted!" I heard her faintly say, and Josh's face lit up into a smile. "Tell me all about her!" His mother's voice had a certain flow to it that seemed friendly.

"Her name is Emma McCann, and she's from New York. I met her after I'd finished a rehab session." Josh began, starting to spin a new web of lies. "No, not drugs. She's recovering from breast cancer." Josh dropped another bomb, then laughed quietly. "It's ok, Mom, it really is. She's strong." He smiled down at me, giving my hand a squeeze. She brought me back from my own destruction." He continued, paraphrasing Sally's words, pulling a face. "Monday is fine, whatever works for you. Thanks again, Mom. Love you." Josh said, and after a few seconds more of goodbye's, he hung up the phone.

"_YAY!" _Sally cheered, appearing in front of us as soon as the phone was off. "I should be a writer! My sappy words know no bounds!"

"We're going for dinner Monday night." Josh clarified, unable to stop smiling. For the rest of the week I noticed that his spirits were lifted, despite his usual squirrely personality and nerves. It made him happy that I was working, and it made me happy that he was getting some of his normal life back. Sally, after being strictly forbidden from showing up at Josh's parents' house to see how things were going was a bit put out, but nonetheless excited. She always lived vicariously through either Josh, Aidan, Rebecca or I, and it made her very happy that poor, awkward Josh was finally having a stroke of luck. Aidan and Rebecca were happy for us, but kept me from running away with the idea too much. The threat of Genevieve finding me someday was still very real, and they were a constant yet gentle reminder of how I still had to be on my guard.

**OoOoOoO**

"How do I look?" Josh fretted nervously in front of our bedroom mirror, pawing at the collar of his shirt. He was wearing a nice pair of dark wash jeans, a collared shirt, and a sweater over. Internally, I grinned. I had picked out a willowy yet polite cocktail dress for the occasion that wasn't too fancy and hadn't worried about it at all. Josh, on the other hand, had tried on five different shirt and sweater combinations and was close to sweating bullets.

"I think your mother would be happy if you showed up looking like a drunk hobo. You look great." I told him, reaching around his shoulders to take his nervous hands away from his collar.

"Does that mean I'm over dressed? I thought since you're wearing a dress that I had to dress up but now it looks too fancy, I mean, I don't want to look like a slob but-" I silenced Josh by stretching on my tippy-toes to kiss behind his earlobe. It was one of the two triggers on Josh to make him shut up. "Uh-um, ok," he said meekly, taking a deep breath, already calming down some.

"Let's go; we don't want to be late." I said, and he took another deep breath, swallowed, and took my hand.

"You both look so _cute!" _Sally cried as we descended the steps arm in arm. "You are rockin' those heels, Emma! And Josh- lookin' _goooood!" _

"Seconded," Rebecca said from over her magazine, eyes twinkling.

"Have fun; stay safe." Aidan summarized from beside Rebecca. "Do you have stakes, just in case?" I rolled my eyes, reaching into my purse and pulling out several, just to placate him. The car ride there was different for me, considering whenever I wanted to go somewhere I just, well, went. In order to keep up the appearance that we were, in fact, normal, I had to travel about two hundred times slower than I usually did, and it gave me time to be nervous, something I didn't like. After twenty minutes, Josh pulled into a gravel driveway that led to a very nice three story, cape-cod style house. Josh got the car-door for me and we walked arm and arm up to the house.

"Ready?" He asked me quietly, reaching over and running a finger over the burn on my neck and the faint scar visible on my chest from Bishop's powerful magnet.

"Ready," I reassured him, and he reached over with a smile and pushed the doorbell.


	19. Keep Calm and Reconnect

_Jumper_

**Emma and Josh go through a few shenanigans along with dinner at the Radcliff's house.**

_Keep Calm and Reconnect_

"Josh!" Josh's mother cried in relief as she threw open the door. She was of average height, had slightly graying hair and eyes. Her face was just starting to wrinkle, and a genuine smile lit up her face as she looked at her son.

"Hi, Mom," Josh said sheepishly, giving her a hug. "Mom, this is Emma." He introduced me and her smile got wider.

"Please, call me Jane. Come on in!" She invited, stepping back to allow us over the threshold. "It's really a pleasure meeting you, Emma." His mother slipped into conversation easily as she led us down a very nice hallway. All of the floors were a honey-brown wood, and the walls had wainscoting. Josh had never alluded to the fact that his family had money and I felt kind of guilty when the obvious fact surprised me.

"Thank you! I've been wanting to meet you for a long time." I said truthfully as we walked into a spacious kitchen. Leaning against the counter was a pretty girl with brown hair and a wide smile. There was a cocktail next to her. Across the kitchen, standing in front of the microwave was a tall, slightly imposing man with a stressed face.

"Josh! It's good to see you again." Emily said strongly, but I saw caution in her eyes. Josh un-looped his arm from mine to give her a hug, and then shook hands with his father, the two of them obviously tense by each other.

"Mr. Radcliff," I greeted his father with a strong hand shake and a smile, and it seemed to throw him for a loop. I'd gotten the feeling that Josh's father was a lot less forgiving of Josh, and I could tell by his reaction that he'd expected us to seem a bit more crazy.

"Nice to meet you," He said, and his gaze traveled over my shorn hair and the burns, the scars; even when I stepped to the side to give Emily a hug.

"Josh told us about how you are recovering, Emma, and I'm so glad that your cancer is in remission." Jane said, smiling, but her eyes were sad, even when she shot her husband a look for staring.

"Thanks, it means a lot to me," I said, rubbing my head absentmindedly. If there was one thing I hated about myself after my tangles with Genevieve, it was my hair. I'd had long, beautiful hair, and now it was all gone. I felt naked, exposed. I felt even worse using cancer as an excuse.

"Well, can I get you anything to drink? Tea? Coffee? Soda? Vodka?" His mother offered.

"Just water, thank you," I said, and she pulled a filter pitcher out of the fridge and poured me a glass into a crystal tumbler, reinforcing my idea that Josh's parents had a considerable amount of money. "You have a wonderful home," I commented, looking around the kitchen. They had granite counter tops, all new appliances and a 'Martha Stewart' feel to just about everything. It was like we were in a magazine. There were some magnets on their fridge, but from where I was standing I was merely uncomfortable, not dying.

"So, what do you do for a living?" Mr. Radcliff asked before his wife could thank me for the compliment, watching me closely. His wife shot him an annoyed look which he chose to ignore. Josh's grip on my hand tightened slightly.

"I work at a local deli. I'm trying to save some money to go to college." I said easily, but I held my ground, not looking away from Josh's dad's eyes once.

"When did you move to Boston, dear? Josh tells us that you are originally from New York." Jane threw herself back into the conversation, clearly trying to steer it away from danger.

"Almost a year ago. I'm from the rural part of New York state and there were better treatments for my cancer in Boston." I spun a smooth lie, and Josh sealed it with a kiss to my temple. When his lips touched me, I felt a jolt, as if I'd almost jumped and then decided not too. It was unsettling. Damn magnets.

"You poor thing!" Josh's mother exclaimed, real sympathy on her face. I continued speaking to keep Mr. Radcliff from interrupting, seeing the frown on his face.

"After my cancer went into remission, I was recommended to see a therapist. I met Josh at the same rehab center and we hit off right away." I said, flashing Josh a dazzling smile.

"Why were you sent to see a therapist?" Mr. Radcliff butted in, eyes narrowing. I heard Josh growl lightly by my ear- dangerously angry just by that one comment. Luckily, his mother's outburst covered the noise.

"_Tom!" _Jane gasped at his insensitivity, glaring at him. "I am so sorry, Josh and Emma, you don't-"

"No, it's perfectly all right," I said lightly, but even I heard slightly hurt tone in my voice. I didn't even have cancer and the idea that I might not have a perfectly sound mind; and how that was so disgusting to him kind of hurt me because I _wasn't _perfect, not in the slightest. "I had a mastectomy and then breast reconstruction, sir, and it's not easy on the nerves." Mr. Radcliff's face was completely priceless as I spoke. He'd clearly realized just how stupid of a mistake he'd just made.

"Why don't you come outside? Josh and I can show you the garden." Emily suggested suddenly, looking at her father with clear dislike.

"I think that would be a wonderful idea." Jane said, staring down her husband, clearly holding back a long rant. Without another word, Josh quickly spun me around and led me out, his hand on my back trembling.

"Calm down, Josh," I breathed into his ear when he whipped us around a corner, getting farther away from Emily with our intense pace. Josh muttered something along the lines of 'so rude' and just walked faster, pushing open a door and leading me down into a large backyard. "It's ok, Josh." I whispered in his ear, then kissed his forehead.

"Sorry about that, Emma. My dad can be a dick." Emily said coolly as she descended down the lawn towards us.

"It's really not a problem. My parents weren't exactly the most supportive either." I added another lie to the pile. "We're not really in contact anymore." I said simply, seeing the curiosity on Emily's face.

"It was still rude." Josh said darkly, wrapping an arm around my waist protectively. His eyes were dilated slightly, and he was breathing a bit too quickly for my taste.

"You need to drop your grudge, Tom, your prejudice!" I heard Jane say rather loudly from inside. "You need to forgive and accept him!"

"This is the garden," Emily said hastily, moving us further from the house and towards a large garden split into two parts. One was full of beautiful flowers. The other half was a healthy looking vegetable garden. "My mom gardens obsessively, it's like the plants are her children." Emily said wryly, standing there with her hands in her pockets as I inspected a zucchini.

"She does an amazing job," I said, placing a hand over Josh's arm around my waist to draw his attention away from his parents' fight. "I've never had much patience for slow things like gardening."

"Me neither. It takes too much work." Emily said, moving away to look at the flowers. When she was far enough away, I turned into Josh and lay my head against his chest, listening to his slightly ragged breathing as he tried to control himself.

"Josh, why are you so angry?" I whispered, and he instantly wrapped his arms around me, as if to comfort me, but he stiffened.

"Once it was clear to my Dad that I wasn't going to be perfect he lost a lot of respect for me. I could honestly care less now, but when he starts treating you like crap I have a problem." Josh was almost hissing by the end of his sentence, and I knew he was glaring at the house.

"It's all _lies_, Josh! He doesn't know any of the truth—he's insulting me on grounds that aren't even real. Relax," I insisted, putting my arms around his neck.

"Usually it wouldn't bother me this much…but for some reason I'm just so mad, so protective." Josh said after a moment, sounding slightly confused.

"It might be your wolf's reaction more than it is yours." I said hesitantly when I realized what the problem was. Josh would have been mad, yes, but he wouldn't have been this angry- he was _never _this angry. The animal side to him had such a strong urge to protect me that it was affecting him a week before the full moon. "So try those breathing exercises. Focus less on me and more on yourself." I said, slowly backing away to give him space before following his sister, hoping that time away from me would make his wolf slide back into his subconscious.

"You've helped Josh a lot," Emily said as I drew even with her. I looked at her in surprise, but she kept her gaze fixed on some blooming gardenias. "When I first saw him today I immediately noticed how he seems calmer, happier. I don't know what you did, but I can't thank you enough." She continued firmly, turning to look at me with a piercing gaze.

"He did just as much for me. I'd be lost without him." I said truthfully, and Emily shrugged, falling silent as Josh joined us.

"I think we can go back inside." Josh said, sticking his hands in his pockets. As if Emily hadn't had such a serious conversation with me, we made jokes all the way back to the house, and I think it put Josh a bit more at ease, seeing that his sister and I were getting along.

"Oh, good, I was just about to get you three. Please, have a seat!" Jane exclaimed, apparently having lost none of her bubbly attitude as she ushered us into the dining room. To my surprise, Mr. Radcliff pulled out a chair for me to the left of the head of the table, and Josh sat instantly next to me.

"So, what do you think you'll study when you go to college?" He asked me, trying to make conversation.

"I've always found geology fascinating, but I don't know how good of a job market there is for that right now. So, in all honesty, I have no idea. Studying business would be a safe route, I guess." I answered honestly. As the meal was served and the night continued, I found that everyone seemed to relax a little, even Josh. His parents, when they weren't accusing their child and his girlfriend about being psychotic, were lovely people, and very welcoming. His mother was an excellent cook, his sister's dry wit kept things lively, and his father's sense of humor kept the jokes going. Josh, to my surprise, even started to banter with his family as if they were Aidan, Rebecca and Sally.

"I'd like to make a toast," Mr. Radcliff said as we were finishing the desert, raising his glass of champagne. "To Josh and Emma," he declared, and I felt myself blush. "For making each others' and everyone's lives better."

"To Josh and Emma," Jane and Emily echoed, and I flushed deeper as they all drained their glasses.

"You are all very welcoming, and I had a wonderful time," I said unable to not smile. After another hour of jokes and laughter, the three of them showed Josh and I to the door. Josh and his dad actually hugged, something that made me happy, considering they had seemed on very rough ground before. I got a hug from all three of them, and we managed to leave the house without showing how supernatural we really were.

"Thank you," Josh said as we were driving home. "I know that was kind of difficult, telling lies to make yourself seem normal."

"I've done it quite a few times, but never to people so kind and polite. That's what made it difficult, not the lying." I said, looking out the window as I spoke. Lying to his parents had reminded me of how I'd done the same thing to my mother and brother, to protect them from me. It still hurt, even though I knew it was for the best.

"I know you're thinking of them. You're biological family. I'm sorry that things would never work out." Josh said, reading me like an open book.

"Now that I've seen you make such progress with your family I'm wondering if I made a mistake." I said quietly, watching road signs whip by. If I hadn't told them that I was terminally ill, I might have had a chance to be in their lives.

"It's frustrating that we are usually so normal. It's just one or two little things about us that make relationships with humans impossible." Josh said after awhile, staring determinedly at the road. "I thought for awhile that I was going to move back home. But then it became clear to me just how easy it would be to hurt them."

"At least we have each other," I pointed out, and he looked away from the road to smile at me.


	20. Silent Forces

_Jumper_

**Josh goes through his first transformation since he and Emma started the 'lust' method; Genevieve's impatience grows. **

_Silent Forces_

When Josh and I returned home without having pissed off Josh's parents or been attacked by vampires, Aidan, Sally and Rebecca were pleasantly surprised. Usually, whenever Josh went home it never ended well- and I was still possibly in danger. The looks on their faces were priceless when Josh and I came in the door, smiling and laughing, even though we were tired and slightly buzzed from the champagne at dinner. The effect on Josh was incredible. Even though a full moon had been right around the corner, he was in a good mood, laughing and at ease. He was a lot happier now that he didn't have the fact that he'd abandoned his family hanging over him. It made me happy to see him so happy. I would do anything to keep him this happy.

Even now, as I sat with him in the room, getting him ready for his transformation tonight, he was calm. He wasn't quiet and resigned like he usually was; full of tension that I could never erase. Josh was open, chuckled often, and was relaxed. Even when I'd reminded him about the possibility of his wolf trying to mate with me, he stayed calm and confident in my judgment. "What do you think the chances of the wolf going after you are?" He asked, looking down at me. I was lying on his chest, listening to the steady, slow beat of his heart, eyes closed in concentration. I'd been trying to pinpoint the symptoms his body gave before a transformation, mainly the heartbeat, for awhile now. Josh was the perfect and willing candidate. If I stayed perfectly still, I could hear the two separate sections of each beat of his heart- the rush of blood out, and then the contract of the heart.

"Considering how angry you were at your parents' house…I'd give it a forty percent chance. Your wolf hasn't known me that long, but sometimes animals in the wild mate in that short of time." I said after a moment of calculation. "But, in all honesty, I have no idea what your wolf will do. Everyone is different. It has its own thoughts, its own wants."

"Does that scare you?" Josh asked softly, and I looked up at him. His eyes were starting to show their first signs of worry since the dinner. That instantly made my mood drop. I didn't want to Josh to start worrying so close to his transformation- especially when he'd been _so _happy up to it. I wasn't going to let my own fears destroy his happiness.

"No," I said, not breaking eye contact to extenuate my point, even though I was lying. "I know that I'll be fine." We stared at each other for a minute more until I pressed my hand down harder on his chest, feeling a change in the rhythm. It had stuttered, but then picked up at the same pace, but with what felt like more forceful beats. "I think it's going to-" I started, but before I could finish my sentence, Josh inhaled sharply, his hands tightening on my arms as the transformation began. In between the first and the second wave, Josh let go of me, starting to strip to save his clothes. He did the breathing exercises I'd told him to do, and he seemed a lot calmer, a lot less rushed and scared. I held stock still as he finished transforming- and I noted that it seemed to go more smoothly than usual. The giant wolf in the room didn't whip around to attack me as soon as it had its bearings. He only turned slowly, sniffing the air and looking at me with large, strangely beautiful eyes. For a moment, we only looked at each other. Then, the wolf let out a low, rumbling purr, lumbering towards me. Despite my better judgment, I held still, letting the wolf sniff my forehead, its powerful breath blowing even the stubbiest hairs on my head back.

I started when the wolf licked my temple, as if grooming me. "Josh," I said clearly, trying out the wolf's reaction to sound. The wolf paused, then resumed it's grooming. I let out a slow breath, trying to think of what to try next. The wolf was confused- I smelled like its mate, but I was also a human, something it instinctively shied away from, even hated. If I pushed it too far, it might take me as a threat and try to attack me, destroying months of work. However, if I didn't do anything, the wolf might get used to my human form and still want to have sex. I hadn't forgotten that Josh had liked the rougher sex when he was losing himself to the wolf- and that would be disastrous. Lost in thought, I didn't even notice the wolf settle down until it nosed roughly at my ankles, sweeping me right off my feet and onto its warm, soft side. I almost jumped away I was so scared until I identified the continuous rumbling purr still in the air and how the wolf was basically _cuddling_ me.

Shocked beyond belief, I just lay there, even when the wolf moved its head right over mine to look at me closely, its muzzle almost brushing my nose. For what seemed like forever I just stared into the wolf's eyes. There seemed to be the only part of Josh left- they were the large, doe-eyed orbs that I was used to looking at. The chocolate brown color seemed darker now that Josh's eyes were so big, and the color seemed to drag me in until I could barely think. Satisfied that I was comfy, the wolf nudged my side so that I was pressed closer to its body before placing its head on its paws, watching me. Even though the wolf seemed perfectly at ease with me there, I didn't move an inch from where I was sprawled against its giant belly. With each breath, the huge flank of the wolf lightly pressed against my back and then retreated, and I could feel the continuous purring it was making deep in my own stomach.

In the heat and softness of the wolf's embrace, I found myself fighting off drowsiness. My body felt very safe where it was, but my mind was still wary. To my surprise, the wolf fell asleep fairly quickly. If the wolf trusted me enough to sleep in my presence, then I figured that I couldn't reverse that trust; the wolf wasn't going to wake up and have me for breakfast. Reassured, I let myself drift off, resting my head on Josh's fuzzy flank, listening to the huge heartbeat of the wolf. Around five in the morning, I jerked awake suddenly as my pillow started to shrink. To my amazement, I watched the wolf shrink down until I was lying directly next to a naked and still sleeping Josh, brushing shoulders. We went from cuddling with him as a wolf to spooning when he was a human. To top it off, Josh, in his sleep, moved closer and dropped and arm over my side and against my stomach, holding me in place. Baffled, I stayed wide awake, grateful that Josh's subconscious didn't have any sexual impulses and that Josh, even right after transforming back was still the same old Josh.

Time ticked by, but I wasn't too uncomfortable, even lying on the cold stone floor. Josh's heat next to me kept me very warm, and I was bursting to tell him the good news- he was trained! His wolf not only had been ok with me yesterday, he'd respected me, loved me! I'd trained Josh faster than any other werewolf I'd worked with- and that made me _very _happy. Finally, an hour later, Josh snorted a little in his sleep, tried to roll over into me, and made a confused yet sleepy noise that was so cute it wasn't even funny as his face buried itself into my stubby locks. "Wha—who-zair?" He mumbled, exploring me with the arm he had wrapped around me. His fingers brushed up and down my torso and Josh muttered something that was almost a groan.

"It's Emma," I said softly, as to not scare him. There was a pause, and then Josh sat up pretty fast for someone who'd just woken up and leaned over to look at my smiling face, lost for words.

"Why—no, _how _are you here?" He asked, rubbing at his eyes, as if to make sure that I wasn't a dream. I couldn't help it; I grinned hugely.

"When you transformed your wolf liked me. There were no attempts for sex, no frightened or angry wolf moments, nothing. You groomed me and then insisted that we cuddle. You fell asleep first." I said, trying not to laugh at how it sounded like I was narrating the night for a hung-over individual who couldn't remember what had happened to them. Josh's reaction was priceless.

"…_What? _Groomed? Cuddled?" Josh very nearly squeaked, eyes wide.

"You licked me a few times, then kind of nosed my feet out from underneath me so that I was lying half beside you and half on you. There wasn't a single moment last night where I felt like I was in any danger." I said honestly, and Josh's laugh was incredibly relieved as he leaned down and gave me a quick kiss before helping me up.

"I'm trained, is that what you're saying? No problems?" He asked, his face and tone daring to hope as he looked at me for conformation, hands on my shoulders, not even caring that he was nude.

"You are trained." I proclaimed, and he laughed again in joy, in relief, eyes sparkling before he gave me a tight hug, burying his face into the crook of my neck, right where the burn was from Bishop.

"Thank you, _thank you_. Thanks so much," He ranted, kissing me on the brow, then nose, then lips. "I never thought this would happen, not in a million years."

"I enjoyed myself. Now get some clothes on; we have to share your good news." I said, and Josh flushed tomato red when he finally realized that he was naked, making a laugh bubble out of me before I could stop it. He hastily headed for his clothes as I stood there laughing, half out of amusement, but mostly out of happiness that I'd succeeded again, especially with Josh.

"_Guess what?" _Josh yelled at the quiet house as we appeared in the living room after I'd jumped us home.

"Emma's pregnant?" Sally gasped, appearing in front of us with a hopeful face. I scowled at her.

"No! I'm trained!" Josh said excitedly, completely missing Sally's initial guess in his joy. "I transformed with Emma there and I didn't attack her! We _cuddled!_"

"Uh, what?" Aidan asked as he and Rebecca came down the stairs. "Cuddled?"

"Yes, cuddled. No sex, no attacks, just cuddling." Josh said proudly.

**OoOoOoO**

_Tap-tap-tap-tap… _I drummed my long, blood red fingernails on the table, glaring at the empty glass cube where my jumper had been. I'd tried to be patient. I'd tried doing things reasonably- but now was the time for action. My waiting was finished- Emma would be mine no matter what it took. With a long, irritated sigh, I reached over and picked up my cell phone, flipping it open and putting it to my ear after calling the second number on my speed dial. The fact that I'd been pushed to such measures angered me more than I could say. It felt like I was giving in, felt like I was being forced to do more dirty work to find this one jumper. I didn't like it. I was my own person- I made my own decisions and I did what I wanted when I wanted to. "Oui, Madame?" Jacques, my head henchman answered smoothly, as if he wasn't aware of how irritated I was. The entire staff in my facility knew just how…challenging this project had become, and how ferocious it made me. Most of them, the cowards that they were, avoided me at all costs. Jacques, however, had a shred of integrity in him, which was why he lead the rest of the idiots to do my bidding.

"Envoye une équipe á Boston." I snapped, starting to drum my fingernails on the table top again, looking at the spot where my jumper was supposed to be. **(Send a team to Boston) **"Mettre Aidan, Rebecca et le loup-garou pour moi." **(Bring Aidan, Rebecca and the werewolf to me.)**

"Oui, Madame. Tout de suite." He said, and I hung up the phone with enough force to bend the metal of the phone almost completely in half. He would send his best team to Boston, where he would hunt down the first place I knew of Emma existing- Aidan's home. Even if she wasn't there, I wanted information. I wanted the werewolf. But, more than anything, I wanted redemption. Nothing would be more satisfying than seeing Emma back in that box, no matter what it took. If I couldn't find her on my own, I'd force someone to help me. Who better then her friends?

Besides, I hated Aidan. I hated him with a passion. From the moment Bishop created him I knew there was going to be trouble. He'd been a whiny, philosophical vampire that always was in the way and annoying others. If I could just _kill _him, or, even better, make him suffer, I was sure that my mood would greatly improve. There was something about making another living thing feel pain that made me feel so _good. _


	21. All We Know

_Jumper_

**The household sits down for a chat—but are in for a surprise. **

_All We Know_

"Ok, explain everything." Sally ordered. We were all sitting cross legged on the floor in a circle dead center in the living room. After Josh had immediately declared that he was trained, Aidan, Rebecca and Sally had a million questions. Even Josh still had some lingering questions about his condition. In order to answer everything at once, I called a pow-wow in the middle of the living room.

"Josh transformed," I started, looking past Josh and imagining the whole memory in my head once more, "and he wasn't at all scared or shocked that I was there. The wolf just turned around and was like 'Oh, hey there.'." I said, starting to smile as I remembered how the wolf had just looked at me as if I'd been expected.

"No negative reaction at _all?" _Aidan asked, looking to Josh for conformation. Aidan had seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of Josh's transformations, so this information must have been a shock. Josh just grinned and shrugged, considering he didn't remember any of it anyway.

"The wolf instantly started, I don't know, _purring_ or something, some sound of affection; it came right over to me and sniffed me." I continued as if Aidan hadn't spoken, eager to tell them what had happened last night in exact detail. I didn't want to leave anything out because I was the only human witness of Josh's progress. "Then it licked my temple and head like it was grooming me. I called for Josh at a normal volume, maybe even quieter, and the wolf only paused before it kept right on grooming me."

"And you didn't jump with teeth, no, _fangs _that close to your face? He could've ripped your head off!" Sally asked breathlessly, enthusiastically.

"Nope," I said cheerfully, giving Josh's hand a squeeze just in case Sally's slightly insulting comment had bothered him. It didn't bother me—it was a perfectly reasonable concern…I just wasn't at all concerned. "Ok, I kind of spaced out then—well, no, that's not the best term," I said hastily, seeing Aidan's face at my apparent nonchalance in dangerous situations, "but I was just thinking really, _really _hard and then, before I knew it, Josh had kind of settled down beside me. He nosed me in the back of the shins so that I fell down next to him."

"Were you hurt?" Josh threw in instantly, rubbing my shoulder anxiously, totally over reacting. "You didn't mention anything this morning so I thought-"

"I'm perfectly fine," I said seriously so that Josh would calm down. He gulped and gave a quick nod. His reaction made my heart twang. If he had even the smallest idea in his head that I could have any sort of injury he was _there. _His sweet, protective demeanor was refreshing- and probably necessary. I had to admit, sometimes I felt like I was invincible. Josh's constant reminder that I had a dangerous job reminded me to be careful.

"And what happened then? Josh said something about cuddling?" Rebecca asked, her nose slightly wrinkled as she probably pictured something really creepy, something horribly wrong. Sally's imagination was having an influence on her mind.

"The wolf cuddled me on its side. I knew that getting up would be really bad, but moving even the littlest bit scared me too. So I just lay there, waiting to see what the wolf's reaction would be. To my surprise, Josh fell asleep right away, totally at ease. That's when I knew that I was perfectly safe- so I relaxed, got comfy, and let myself fall asleep." I summarized, smiling at Josh. He was beaming, even if he didn't realize it. I knew he was proud of himself, and he should be. He was trying to train his subconscious to do something that was usually completely beyond his control.

"Wow, you've got balls." Sally commented lightly, grinning. "I wouldn't sleep with a werewolf, no _way." _

"Thanks, Sally." I said, half sarcastic, half laughing. "That means a lot."

"I just can't believe you'd do that, Emma! It's so dangerous!" Rebecca spluttered while Aidan just looked at Josh and I, expression unreadable.

"…Yup," I said finally, flashing Rebecca a grin, unable and unwilling to try and placate her. Rebecca raised an eyebrow and then burst out laughing. As she was laughing, I noticed Aidan start to turn away from his girlfriend's face and towards the front window behind us, frowning. In the time it took me to blink, there was a huge _bang _as the glass shattered and the wooden sill splintered. Something tackled me _hard_, sending us flying across the room, flipping the couch and crashing into the wall. Gasping, I didn't even get a chance to open my eyes to see what had happened when the harsh, terrifying pain of a magnet made me freeze and instantly start to scream and writhe in sheer agony. It was as if my brain had been doused in napalm.

"_**Emma!**__" _I heard Josh bellow over me, but there was no way I could ever answer him. Through the pain, I became dimly aware that I couldn't writhe around like I usually could; someone had tied up my feet and was working on my hands. Underneath my screaming and Sally and Josh yelling were the loud, feral snarls of a vampire fight. "Get—off-!" Josh was panting, and I could hear him struggling not far away from me. Chest heaving, I forced my streaming eyes open. The entire room was blurry- I could barely see. A vampire had Josh pinned to the wall and had secured his hands with a zip-tie. Sally was across the room sending exploding objects into two other vampires that were bitterly fighting Aidan and Rebecca.

The vampire next to me noticed that my eyes were open and moved their magnet closer, making me choke and nearly start to convulse. The neodymium magnet in his hand was burning into my head until I felt my eyes roll back- "Attraper le loup-garou et se!" One of the vampires cried in rapid French. Immediately after there was a gut-wrenching snarl followed by a loud, sickening crack. As I felt myself start to slip away, the peculiar feeling of being surrounded came over me- as if I was under the covers of Josh's bed.

"NO!" I heard Rebecca shriek as I was lifted off the floor, her scream louder than mine. Seconds later something tackled me again. There was a loud, eerie shriek and then silence, minus my own screams, gasps and whimpers. "Get rid of the magnet- get rid of it!" Rebecca cried, and after a second, the mind-bursting pain faded from behind my eyes, leaving me shivering and gasping, half conscious on the floor. There was a loud tearing noise, and the feeling of being encompassed ceased.

"Hold still, Josh!" I heard Aidan say hastily, and there was a quiet _snip_ noise. Seconds later, hands were stroking my face, brushing back my stubby hair.

"Emma? _Emma!" _Josh was panicking, his voice cracking in his stress, his agony. With the same snip noise, someone cut the tie around my ankles and wrists.

"Give her some air—" Rebecca started, voice strained, but Josh _growled _at her, and his grip on me tightened. The sound of his growl grated over my ears and before I could stop myself I groaned from the residual pain. Why was my head pounding to a point where I wanted to throw up? What had just happened? _Why was Josh so upset?_

"Emma, can you hear me? Please, wake up," Josh begged quietly. It was his voice that somehow gave me the strength to make my eyes flicker open. Josh had me cradled in his arms, looking down on me with the most tortured expression I'd yet seen on his face. The left side of his face was bruising, but he looked unhurt otherwise. What had happened to him- who made him this way? What had happened to me? "_Emma!_" Josh whispered, looking down upon me half in fear and half in hope.

"Josh," My voice cracked so badly that half of the word was silent, but I forced out his name to ease the terrible pressure on his mind before it consumed him. Josh let out a little cry of relief and hugged me hard, starting to shake.

"You're ok, you're safe. You're safe," Josh repeated, as if he was trying to convince himself as he pulled back, kissing my forehead in his anxiousness.

"What—happened?" I croaked, then winced and closed my eyes at the louder noise- it was like a bomb had just gone off in my brain. I knew that there had to have been magnets around- my mind was wiped up until…last night, cuddling into Josh's flank.

"We were attacked by four vampires from France. They tried to kidnap you and Josh." Aidan said quietly, picking up on my sensitivity to sound. With a hiss of pain, I sat up, Josh doing most of the work when he realized what I was trying to do. Through blurry eyes, I took in the living room. Five minutes ago it had been pristine. Now the whole front window was gone, there was rubble all over the floor, and the bodies of four vampires were strewn around the room, blood everywhere. The couch had been flipped over and broken in half, and glass was all over the place.

"From France?" I asked stupidly, taking a minute to remember that _Genevieve _was in France, still hunting me. "Oh," I said when I understood, and I felt my brow furrow. How could she have possibly known that I was here? I'd given no indication that I remembered who I was before I'd escaped from her lab because I _didn't_ remember who I was. "Are you four ok?" I asked, looking over all of them more closely. Sally, of course, was completely unaffected physically. Aidan and Rebecca had a few scrapes and cuts, but nothing too serious. Josh's face was still bruised and now that I looked at him, I saw harsh scrapes all the way around his wrists from where he'd fought against a vampire.

"Are _we _ok? Jesus, Emma, we thought you were dying!" Rebecca said shakily. It took me another minute to remember that only Josh had heard me under a magnet's influence before this afternoon. I must have scared everyone half to death with my involuntary reaction. "Are _you_ alright? What's your birthday? What's my phone number?" Rebecca fired off, testing my memory.

"My birthday is October 22 and your phone number is 213-9748." I recited softly, almost a whisper, closing my eyes. "You also have a nice tattoo on your—"

"She's fine," Rebecca said quickly, cutting me off. "A little shook up, but she'll be ok."

"Then let's get rid of the bodies, Rebecca. Sally, can you tape over this window before the cops come? Josh- _stay here_, and keep your stake." Aidan directed firmly, his black eyes flinty in his anger as he stood up, going over to the nearest body. He never showed too much emotion except for in small almost insignificant gestures. His need to privatize what had just happened told me that he was _very _angry and a little scared too.

"Do you need to lie down?" Josh asked me when I let more of my weight lean against him, exhausted.

"Probably," I admitted, my voice cracking again. Trying to man up and take this like a champ, I insisted that I could walk, letting Josh only help me up and guide me instead of carry me- he'd just transformed yesterday and was probably still sore. Josh, however, wouldn't let me go upstairs, wanting to stay as close to our vampire guardians in the living room as possible. I ended up lying on the loveseat once he swept all the rubble off of it. Josh sat protectively next to me on the floor, leaning against the loveseat and twirling a stake in his palm, glaring at the mess. "Why did they hurt you?" I whispered after some of the pounding in my head vanished and I tried to remember what had just happened.

"I resisted," Josh said finally, clenching his fist around the stake.

"They went after you?" I asked in horror, turning my head to get a better look at him. Josh just grimaced, beating the stake on the inside of his palm. "She wants you. She wants _both _of us." I whispered, closing my eyes.

Genevieve was back and out for blood. _My _blood.


	22. Love and Hate

_Jumper_

**Emma decides to make a difficult choice in order to take a stand against Genevieve. While Emma plans, so does Genevieve.**

_Love and Hate_

The magnified effect of the silence around us was incredible. Sitting at the dining room table was Josh, Rebecca, Sally, Aidan and I. Neither of us spoke for the longest time, and I knew what we were all waiting for. We were waiting for one of us to offer some crazy solution to fix all of this. We were waiting for something to save us, to make Genevieve disappear like some sort of magic trick. We were waiting for something that would never come. As the minutes ticked by, the true answer became even clearer to me than it ever had before. I'd considered this idea a lot, especially after I'd returned from my little escapade across the globe. It was an idea that scared me, it scared me a lot. In the end, however, I knew that it had to be done. It was me or her.

"I have to go to see Genevieve." I said finally, not looking directly at anyone as I spoke. "I have to finish this or she'll never stop." As I spoke, everyone sort of jerked, as if waking from a dream, a dream where the nasty truth hadn't woken them up yet. I was reality, beating down the door. "If I have to kill her—"

"Emma, no. Emma, you can't. How could you even suggest something like that?" Sally asked, wringing her hands together. "She wants to _kill _you!"

"You can't go alone." Aidan said firmly, laying his only ultimatum. I met his gaze briefly, and saw the understanding there. He knew the crazy, powerful world of vampire politics better than anyone- and he knew that this would literally not end until one of us was dead.

"As soon as you show up she'll either take you again or kill you. I don't know what you think you can do." Josh said quietly, gripping my hand tightly. I knew that if it came down to it, he would probably try to throw himself in front of any harm coming my way, and that couldn't happen. Genevieve wanted him too, and that was my fault. She couldn't lay a finger on him, or he'd never be the same afterward.

"I can jump her somewhere where it's just us, one on one. If she doesn't have a magnet at that point, she'd be completely defenseless. I could stake her faster than she'd realize." I said flatly, as if that whole process would be easy. "At this point, however, Genevieve probably has a magnet on her at all times. If I could jump someone else and myself in to apprehend Genevieve, they could get the magnet off of her and get rid of it. After the magnet is gone, I'm fine."

"Uh, no you're not. Not really." Josh said, his grip getting more protective as he spoke. "It usually takes you and hour or two to get even remotely back to normal." He pointed out, and I frowned. This is where my plan got sticky.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." I said quietly. "I know that when the playing field is leveled that I can easily kill Genevieve." There was another pregnant pause as my family let this information be absorbed.

"If you're going, we all are." Sally said with a sudden fierceness, and I resisted the urge to wince. I knew that this would happen. I wasn't too worried about Sally- she could kick ass now, and vampires couldn't hurt her. I knew that Rebecca and Aidan, when they wanted to be, were vicious, and had a very small chance of getting hurt or dying if it came to them getting into a fight. I was worried about Josh coming along because Genevieve wanted him and he couldn't protect himself. He was the most vulnerable among us when it came to defense. Even with his wolf out, Josh was nothing compared to vampires and their powers. I couldn't walk him right up to his death for my sake.

"That will be difficult, considering she wants to kill all of you except Sally." I said with a hint of bitterness.

"I'm not letting you go alone." Josh insisted, tightening his grip on me as if he thought I would jump at any second.

"Josh, she wants to turn you into tissue samples! If you come she'll use each of us against the other to get what she wants. She'll manipulate Rebecca and Aidan too, if it came down to it. But what can she do to Sally? _Nothing. _The time it would take her to even try to start an exorcism would be long enough for Sally to start her on fire." I argued, raising my voice and, for the first time, balking against his touch.

"We can't just sit here at home and wait for you to come back. I think your logic is starting to grow on me, but I won't sit here waiting." Rebecca said clearly as Josh just tightened his grip again anyway, clearly forgetting that I could jump out of his grip if I wanted too.

"I could jump all of you to France, but you'd still be in her territory waiting- and that's even more dangerous than waiting here. _However,_" I added, seeing Rebecca was about to object, "if I did get caught, and if Sally couldn't free me, she could report back to you and Aidan to come and try it." I laid out the next step in my plan, shooting Josh a look that clearly told him to cool his jets.

"I'm not happy about it, but I'm in." Aidan said in what sounded like a calm voice, but his whole frame seemed to twitch with tension. Josh threw him a look, threw me a look, then got up, pushed over the nearest chair, and stormed from the room. Usually, I would have let him go- but the full moon was yesterday. If he got angry enough, bad things could happen. I already had an itching feeling that his wolf's protectiveness was getting to him again, and when Josh felt the same way, it would be almost impossible to control.

"Josh, _wait!" _I yelled after him, jumping out of the room and, on a hunch, in front of the front door. Josh skidded to a halt as I blocked his path out. His pupils were slightly dilated again, and I could almost see the veins in his neck standing out. "Josh, calm down. Look at me and take a deep-" I started coaching, taking a step forward to let his wolf (which was coming out) get a whiff of me and hopefully cool off. Josh interrupted me though, in a voice that was more like a snarl than a voice.

"Do I mean anything to you?" He growled, hands balling into fists. That one question stunned me enough to leave me completely speechless. "I care about you more than anything, _anything, _and you are about to throw your life away, and for _what?" _Josh bellowed down into my face. "If I don't mean enough to you to be there when you might possibly _die, _then-" He continued ranting until I got my voice back, and my head. Josh was in the middle of having a bad 'mate' reaction. When two animals get as connected as Josh's wolf and I were, the male becomes protective to a fault. As the 'alpha male', Josh's wolf felt as if it were in charge, and, more specifically, in charge of me and my protection. The very idea of me in a dangerous situation was setting him off.

"Josh, I'm doing this _for _my life, my life with _you!_ Don't you understand? _I love you!" _ I yelled right back at him as Aidan, Rebecca and Sally came cautiously around the corner. If I had trusted Josh less, I would have realized that physical violence in his current state towards me and others was a very real possibility, but that was the furthest from my mind when he grabbed me by the throat with both hands and slammed me against the wall, a very animalistic snarl ripping through his teeth. Acting instinctively, I jumped easily out of his grasp and slapped him as hard as I could across the face, jumping again to stand inbetween Aidan and Rebecca. By that time, Aidan and Rebecca had half leapt forward in reaction to Josh's attempt to strangle me. I threw out my arms to catch them as Josh whirled around, eyes burning in his face. It had been my hope that the slap would wake Josh up, but Josh, wherever he was inside himself, was still too upset to come back to reality. Josh raced forward, a snarl growing across his face. Thinking fast, I reached out, touched his shoulder, and jumped.

I left him in our room under the hospital and jumped back home, all in less than a second. Rebecca immediately took me by the shoulders and gave me a once over, making sure that I was alright. Her hands were shaking. Sally was standing still in complete shock by the stairs, and Aidan was right behind Rebecca, but he was clearly flabbergasted. "What happened to him?" He managed to ask after a moment. None of us had ever seen Josh that angry, and I wondered if this was the first time Josh's wolf had almost made it completely out through anger and fear.

"I called it 'male mate syndrome' when I was with the wolf pack in Bordeaux. He got so upset, worried, scared and angry that his inner wolf started to take over. I'm his wolf's 'mate', and that has made Josh's wolf very intent on me, protecting me, and well, being my 'alpha male'. It wants to control me like a normal male wolf would, and when I didn't let it, it got angry. Josh will cool off and be completely back to normal." I said, turning my head away when Rebecca hit a sore spot on my neck with her fingers. "It's really my fault," I added under my breath, rubbing my forehead when Rebecca dropped her hand.

"If your plan to kill Genevieve will make Josh this way are you still going to do it?" Aidan asked lowly, and I grimaced.

"I have to. Josh's wolf may not like it, and Josh might not like it either, but I have to."

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Perfection." I whispered, looking at my creation. It had taken lots of research and a few murdered French scientists, but I'd done it. I gazed proudly around my skyline lunch room. It had looked as if nothing had changed at all, minus the five inch thick strip of black anti-magnetism receptors along the edges of the windows. They were transmitting beams of anti-magnetism, which were bouncing off the windows and any other solid object in the room. As far as atmosphere went for humans, ghosts and vampires, nothing had changed.

But Emma would be in for a nasty surprise when she came here looking for me. I knew that she would. When the team Jacques sent to Boston did not respond within five hours of the beginning of the assault, I knew that they had been defeated and that Emma was aware of my wants. I knew that Emma, in a foolish act of desperation, looking to end my plans for her and Aidan's dog, would come here. When she did, she would not find a single magnet in the vicinity. There would be no guards, no other vampires; they wouldn't be necessary. As soon Emma entered an environment without magnetism, I predicted that she would _die. _

_Instantly. _

If her brain depended on the structure of electricity, if her jumps were founded off of magnetism, if the very magnetic metals in her blood had nothing to connect to, she would be completely isolated from the world around her. She, unknowingly, depended on that world for her very existence. Without it, how would her body function? Her demise would be simple, short, and sweet. With Emma out of the way, it would be a breeze to bring in Aidan, Rebecca, and the werewolf. Aidan and Rebecca would die, preferably in front of the werewolf, for added psychological torture. Then I would have a werewolf all to myself. I would run as many tests as possible on him when he was alive, and then dissect him, study his anatomy. I would sequence out the entire werewolf genome from his DNA and find the gene that ruined his life. Once I had it, I could use it as a biological weapon to first rule all vampires, and then, with their allegiance, the world.

It was only a matter of time.

Of course, I knew that there were several flaws in my current plan. I had been counting on Emma being in Boston, or, at least, Aidan and Rebecca knowing something about her whereabouts. If they knew nothing, then my process would take a lot longer, but Emma would still, eventually, come to me. The very magnetism that I would kill her with would lead her back to France, back to me. If she was jumping in on an uncontrolled path, she would come right back to where she had started. True, I would not get Aidan, the wolf and Rebecca in the same package, but I could pretend to use Emma's life as a bargaining-ship. The possibilities were endless.

* * *

**I'm sorry. I know that this is not perfect, not in the least. I hit an impasse with this story last year and it took up until last night for me to have one of my 'writing epiphanies' that usually get my ass in gear. This update was far too short, uninformative and rushed for my taste, but I hope that you all like it. **

**blackorchestrafreak**


	23. Twisted Everyway

_Jumper_

**Final preparations begin, and everyone is stressed. Josh and Emma consider what just happened between them.**

_Twisted Everyway _

Sally and I sat silently next to each other, side by side on the couch. Aidan and Rebecca were flying through the house, gathering supplies they thought they'd need along with blood, stakes, and other things I didn't want to think about. They were surprisingly calm and focused, as if we were just going on vacation to France. I was grateful for their 'get it done' attitude- it helped me think less of what I was actually about to do until…"So, um, Emma? What are we going to do to find Genevieve?" Sally asked, breaking me out of a daze. I'd also been worrying about Josh to a point where I wanted to jump to him right away. I would have, but I was waiting for the last little bit of bruising around my neck to heal. I didn't want Josh to see that he had hurt me- it would only make him worse. Besides, I didn't know how long it would take him to manage himself. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the matter at hand.

"I'll jump us to where I first intruded into her compound. If we don't run into anything, I'll take us to her office- it's this room that feels like its floating. All of the walls are made of glass and you can see all of Paris. If she's not there," I swallowed for a moment, feeling a slight pang of fear for the first time, "we go to her lab." I had horrid memories from the time I spent in her lab, and I never, ever wanted to go back there.

"Do I hurt Genevieve? Do I just get the magnet off of her and disappear? What do you want me to do?" Sally asked, her voice calm but her hands nervous; they were twisting the edge of her sweater into a tiny coil and then back again.

"If she does have a magnet," I started, my voice sounding strangely flat to my own ears, "then I'll instantly start reacting to it as soon as we arrive. You can't let that stop you. Get the magnet and get rid of it. After that…it's up to you. I know that Aidan and Rebecca want you to stay so you can report back—just in case." I said tonelessly, trying not to think about all of the things that could go wrong. Sally nodded without saying a word. She looked at me for a moment.

"The bruises on your neck are all gone." She said normally, flashing me a smile, as if she was oblivious to all of the stress around us, even though I knew she wasn't. It was her sense of grounded normalcy that made me smile, even if it was faint. She was incredible. Her strength in situations that made me want to rip my hair out was astronomical.

"Thanks," I said, and she made some sort of dismissive gesture before getting up and padding into the kitchen. "I'm going to get Josh," I yelled at the house. I didn't jump right away. Instead, I took a moment to prepare myself. I had no idea how Josh would react to me appearing after he'd lost it and tried to choke me, I'd slapped him, and then dumped him in what was basically a cell and left him for fifteen minutes. Unsure, I jumped slowly, disappearing quickly but reappearing slowly. Josh had his head against one of his arms, which was leaning against the wall. I couldn't see his face, but his whole frame screamed tension. "Josh," I said softly, and he bolted up, whipping around to see me reappear the rest of the way. Josh looked awful. His face was pale and his eyes full of unrest. I couldn't put a finger on which emotion I saw there- was it pain, guilt, anxiety? A mix of all three? Without a word, he crossed the distance between us and hugged me tightly. Once over my initial surprise, I embraced him, feeling the rise and fall of his back against my arms. His breathing was slow and normal- an excellent sign. Josh shifted his grip, nestling his head in my neck for a moment before letting go and holding me at arm's length. I said nothing as his eyes roamed over me, carefully checking every inch of my neck before he slowly let go.

"I've never lost control like that. Not _ever._" Josh said very quietly looking down. "I couldn't think, couldn't react; I couldn't even stop myself from going at you like that." He continued, the shame and self hatred in his words simmering up to make him look even more miserable.

"I meant every word I said, Josh. I love you, and the only way we can get Genevieve out of our life together forever is to kill her. I know that it's dangerous, and I know that that scares you. It scared you and your wolf. When the both of you feel the same way it's near impossible to control, Josh, and that's not your fault." I said just as quietly, reaching a hand out to rest it on his chest, regaining his full attention. "I'm scared too; I'm not invincible, and neither are you. Genevieve wants both of us, but she wants me more. You and I both know that out of all of us I'm the only one who is fast enough, strong enough, and the most experienced about dealing with Genevieve to do this." I told Josh's big, brown eyes. He paused for a moment, then wrapped me in his arms again. For the first time in a long time I had to force back tears and take a few deep breaths. Talking about what I was prepared to do scared me more than I wanted Josh to know.

"Take me with you," Josh begged lightly into my ear, his breath tickling the side of my neck. His voice was tight with emotion he was forcing himself to keep back.

"I can take you to France with everyone else, but I won't take you to her lab, not where I can't protect you." I disagreed, and he pulled back, lightly placing his hands around my neck where they had been just minutes before. "You've looked after me so much in these past few months, Josh. Now it's my turn. I know that goes against your instinct, but you have to let it go." I told him, my voice choking slightly as I tried very hard not to cry. Despite all of my best efforts, moisture welled up in my eyes and a tear boiled over. Josh was instantly there, bringing a thumb up to wipe it away. For a moment, we just looked at each other.

"Can I trust you not to get hurt or killed?" Josh asked finally, a note of defeat in his voice.

"I'm super speedy," I said with a shaky smile. "I'll finish this before you know it." I jumped us home, wanting the presence of Sally, Aidan and Rebecca to distract me from what I had to do. I didn't want to dwell on it.

"So, are you going to tell us where we're staying? You keep saying that it's fine, it's fine, but where are we staying- a hotel- a ditch?" Rebecca said grumpily as Josh and I materialized in the kitchen. She had a right to be a little pissed. I'd insisted that I knew just the place to take everyone in France. It wasn't too far from Genevieve's lair but it wasn't close enough to set her off, either. There was only one catch, and Aidan and Rebecca weren't going to like it.

"We're staying with some friends of mine." I said carefully, leading Josh to the kitchen table and sitting down. He looked at me curiously as I did so, starting to put together the pieces. Josh had heard about my adventures in France in detail, whereas I'd only told Rebecca that I'd worked in France before.

"Where?" was all Rebecca said, crossing her arms.

"In Bordeaux," I said easily. Aidan and Sally just looked at me, confused, before Rebecca and Josh understood at the same time.

"_What?" _Rebecca demanded, blinking a few times in surprise.

"Emma, is that safe? I mean, I know you helped them a lot, but they are a wolf pack." Josh said, looking at me, worried.

"Wolf pack?" Aidan repeated in what sounded to be a forced calm.

"Yes, a wolf pack. When I was younger, I jumped to France and met a pack of wolves outside of Bordeaux. I stayed with them for a long time and helped all of the pack members become a bit more civilized. They'll accept me with open arms and help us destroy Genevieve." I said confidently.

"Oh, I don't know why I was so worried, Aidan. After all, she's only taking to _vampires _to stay with a bunch of _werewolves._" Rebecca said sarcastically to Aidan, crossing her arms.

"Come _on, _Rebecca, do you honestly think that I'd take you two to meet them if I didn't think that everyone involved could handle it? They won't kill you, trust me." I said, a little miffed that she wasn't taking this well. I knew that I had a tendency to not know my limits and to get into dangerous situations, but I'd spent almost two years with the wolf pack of Bordeaux. They were my best friends before I'd met Rebecca and I owed them a lot.

"This actually sounds kind of cool." Sally spoke up, holding Rebecca's suddenly fiery gaze.

"Emma, we are in enough shit already. Do you really want to add more to the pile by possibly pissing off a very large pack of werewolves?" She asked in a cool voice. I felt my jaw clench slightly despite my better judgment. I knew that Rebecca was under a lot of stress, but I really knew that I had this in the bag. I was stressed enough too; I didn't need someone telling me to second guess myself.

"Emma, if you're sure about this then I'm behind you. I can tell that you've thought this through." Aidan spoke up unexpectedly, having watched this fight mostly from afar. Rebecca looked at him, incredulous, but then seemed to relax. Rebecca trusted Aidan like no one else. If he was confident, then so was she.

"I'm positive." I said, my voice ringing with assurance.

"Then we're all packed up and ready to go." Aidan said, and I felt my mood, which had been brightening with his support blacken again. It was time to go and possibly not come back. "We don't have to go today, Emma. We could go tomorrow if that's better for you." Aidan said when I didn't move. It took me a moment to come back to myself, to push away all of the probabilities about dying or getting hurt. I had to do this. I had to.

"No, we're going today. We're going now. Ready?" I asked, stepping forward and outstretching my hands. Rebecca, Sally, Josh and Aidan looked at each other as I stood there as calmly as I could, trying to appear confident.

"Yeah," Josh said, touching my shoulder gently. Sally came next, putting her ghostly hand in mine. Aidan took Rebecca's hand and Rebecca took my other hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't let go," I warned, making sure that Aidan had a good grip on the one bag that was coming with us. I took an extra moment to concentrate on where I was going and how much mass I was taking with me. I had a lot of individual bodies that needed to stay that way. Then, after taking a deep breath, I jumped. I was about three nano-seconds slower than usual with my load, but I managed the extra weight pretty well. Instead of the quiet pop that I most often made when jumping, our presence was introduced with a large _bang_ as a safely delivered everyone and everything halfway across the world to Bordeaux, France. "Whoa," I said, tightening my grip on Rebecca for a moment. I could still feel shockwaves of energy from our arrival. I'd chosen the clearing I used to stay in about fifty paces from the last place I remembered the pack camping out so that I'd have a nice flat plain to land in.

"Aaaaand, she sticks the landing!" Sally joked, grinning at me.

"Nicely done," Josh said in my ear, giving it a kiss. I turned to smile at him, releasing Rebecca's hand. As I did so, I heard and felt the rumblings of something coming for us, something _big. _Acting on instinct, I jumped in front of Aidan, Rebecca and Josh, arms spread wide as three very large wolves burst out of the trees, snarling. I held my ground as one approached, sniffing the air, looking at Josh and then moving on to my two vampire friends, lip curling up in anger. I looked the wolf right in the eye, knowing that he had to be an older pack member. Bordeaux had rules about who could transform during the daytime- the practice was strictly limited to adults only because only they could control themselves. One of the other two wolves was looking at me excitedly, ears up and tail wagging. The other one seemed more cautious. The wolf getting up into my business suddenly pulled back, cocking its head to look at me more closely. Then it retreated behind its fellows and morphed back into a human being.

"No way! Emma, is that you?" Jordan, one of the guys I'd helped first yelled, his head appearing between the wolfy heads of his two pack mates.

"Hey, Jordi!" I called him by his nickname, grinning, dropping my arms. "How are you?"

"Holy _shit! _Good to have you back, Emma! Why did you bring vamps with you though- I mean, _god _they reek." He said, combing some of his wildly curly black hair off of his face.

"They're my friends, Jordi. This is Rebecca and Aidan, and they won't hurt you. And this is Josh." I said, unable not to grin at him as I extended a hand to him, urging Josh to join me. After a second, Josh walked around Aidan and Rebecca and came forward, taking my hand. Jordan sniffed the air and gave me a nod of approval. His other two wolf friends sniffed more cautiously, their nostrils flaring as they picked up Josh's scent. It was entirely unique and would stay with them forever- that's how wolf noses worked. "And, not to be forgotten, Sally, the fabulous ghost." I said, gesturing to her. Sally flashed Jordan a smile.

"Wow, Emma. Nice to meet all of you, but, what's this about?" Jordan asked, and I felt my smile fall. "Oh geez, I can tell this is one hell of a story. Let me take you back to camp." He suggested, bending down for a moment. I'd suggested to Bordeaux that they always tie a change of clothes around their legs when they went out on patrols incase they needed clothes to be human, and apparently they still followed that advice. A few seconds later he was walking around his two friends, dressed in cut off shorts. "Let them know Emma's here, and with _friends. _We don't want everyone freaking out over nothing." Jordan told the two wolves. Without as much as a yip the duo left, loping back into the trees. "It's good to see you again." Jordan said as he walked over, and I met him halfway to give him a hug.

"How's Annabelle?" I asked, referring to his wife. Jordan grinned proudly.

"She's a proud mother of five." He said, and I looked at him, surprised.

"Congratulations! I bet that's a handful though, goodness." I tacked on, and Jordan laughed.

"You should see her trying to keep them all in line during the moon-fall." He said, referring to the time of the night when wolves were wildest- when the moon was setting and the sun was rising. "Nice to meet you, Josh. I can't believe someone finally tamed Emma McCann." He said, offering a hand for Josh to shake. Josh shook it, looking at Jordan with slightly wide eyes. I'd neglected to tell him that the majority of the wolves here enjoyed transforming all the time and were sometimes more lupine then human.

"I, uh, wow, you just um, were a wolf and then, uh, you weren't. That's—that's amazing." Josh managed, and Jordan threw me a look. 

"I was going to tell him. Remember not too long ago when you didn't even _want _to be a wolf? Look at you now, morphing whenever the mood strikes you." I said defensively and Jordan rolled his eyes. "Jordan, this is Aidan and this is Rebecca. I live with both of them, Josh, and Sally in Boston nowdays." I said, purposefully reintroducing the vampires. Jordan looked at me and then at them, looking as if he was biting his tongue.

"You _live _with vampires." He started, putting his hands in his pockets and looking at the ground, then the sky, and then covering his face with one hand. "You live with vampires," He muttered to himself, rubbing his forehead.

"They are as equally as dangerous as it was living with a hundred or so werewolves at once, Jordan. Besides, these two have been clean for years. They don't drink live." I said, and Jordan looked up, surprised.

"Oh." He said, almost without thinking about it. "That simplifies things." He said, offering them a smile. I could tell that he was trying to open his head to this new idea. He extended a hand for either one of them to shake. I was impressed when he didn't at all flinch when Aidan shook his hand first, then Rebecca. He didn't react to their cold skin at all. "So, camps this way, only a few meters away, really. You scared the shit out of Jean and Rizzo." Jordan said, starting to lead the way.

"No way- which one was Jean- the red one?" I said, quickly trying to recall the two other wolves in perfect detail. The last time I had seen Jean he was an awkward teenager.

"Yeah, that's Jean. He's like, damn, twenty five now? Time really does fly. Rizzo is newer- she got here a few years ago at a really young age, only twelve. She's improved by leaps and bounds though." Jordan instantly launched into chatter about what the pack had been doing and then effortlessly switched to how the camp worked for Rebecca, Aidan, Sally and Josh's benefit. As we walked through the trees, I held Josh's hand, trying to take deep breaths of the fresh forest air and trying to stay happy. Seeing my old friends again had lifted my mood once more, but the threat of Genevieve seemed closer now than ever.


	24. Red Sky

_Jumper_

**The camp at Bordeaux accepts the group and gives them shelter for the night. Josh and Emma have another talk about the future.**

_Red Sky_

Jordan led us into camp from the back entrance. There was a line of morphed wolves on either side as we walked the path into camp. Other werewolves, in human form, were standing behind them. Most looked fairly happy. A few were outright scowling, but most of the people in the camp remembered who I was. The children were standing around their mother's legs, looking at us with wide, excited eyes. Jordan led us into the large square of dirt that served as the village square. When there was a market, it was held on that flat area. When there were meetings, weddings, funerals, announcements, etc, the whole village came. Waiting in the center for me was Simon, the current leader of the pack. He was just past middle-age now. Being the pack-leader seemed to have aged him. "Simon," I greeted him, and gave him a hug in greeting. "How are you?" I asked, and Simon sighed, passing a hand over his face.

"A bit not good, Emma. You've brought two vampires into our camp." He got right to the point, gesturing to Aidan and Rebecca.

"I didn't mean to frighten anyone, Simon, and I'm sorry if I did. Aidan and Rebecca are my friends," I raised my voice and turned to the gathered crowd, gesturing to Aidan and Rebecca. Even if I didn't convince Simon right away, if I had the pack's support he would go along with what they wanted. "They don't drink live and they live with me, a ghost, and another werewolf peacefully. They've come with me to help me, not to hurt you." I said clearly, and the crowd started to buzz a little, intrigued by my words.

"Why do you need help from vampires in France, Emma? You have us," Simon said, sounding slightly confused, slightly unconvinced. Based off of his question, I launched into my story of what I'd been doing since I left Bordeaux. I told them everything about going to Canada, meeting and training Rebecca, moving to Boston, all of it. I tweaked the truth slightly and said that I'd trained Aidan as well- just to reassure the pack. If they trusted me and my work, they'd trust Aidan too. I told the pack about my relationship with Josh and how it was almost torn apart by my run-in with magnets. The pack listened silently to my tale about my uncontrolled jumps and my memory loss, but they instantly tensed when I mentioned that I'd been a captive of Genevieve for awhile. Once I'd wrapped them up on my return home, Simon was silent for a moment, staring at the ground with his arms crossed. "And now you are here to kill her." He said finally, looking up at me. I swallowed.

"Yes," I affirmed, and briefly explained my plan of taking Sally with me. If I should fail or be caught, I'd need Rebecca and Aidan's help to get back out- if at all.

"You trust them to come for you?" A voice challenged from the crowd, one I didn't recognize.

"I trust them with my life." I said firmly, turning to face the noise. After a second, the crowd parted and a young man stepped forward. He looked as if he was well on his way to joining the council and eventually having a shot of becoming pack-leader. He was a little too aggressive now though, which showed his immaturity.

"Prove it," He said, crossing his arms. I looked at him a moment, and then held out my hand, jumping a sharp knife to my hand. There was only one way to prove beyond all doubt that Aidan and Rebecca were trustworthy, and that was to put my training of Rebecca and Aidan to the test by putting myself in the firing line. If I trusted them with my life, the pack would do the same.

"Emma," Josh warned, sounding worried. I ignored him. Not breaking eye-contact with this challenger, I rolled back my sleeve. Without hesitating, I drew the knife across the top of my arm, wincing slightly as it stung ferociously. I jumped the knife away, turning around and walking towards Aidan and Rebecca both had stiffened a little and both were holding their breath in order not to smell my blood. To my delight, neither of their eyes were black and they didn't appear to be fighting down their fangs. I stopped in front of them, offering my wrist. Neither of them even batted an eyelid until my skin jumped over itself, sealing the wound.

"I only came because I need your help too, Simon." I said, turning back to him. "Tomorrow I'm taking Sally with me to kill Genevieve. We need somewhere safe to stay the night. Can we stay here?" I asked. Simon surveyed the crowd, rubbed his neck, and then clapped his hands, giving me a grin.

"Of course you can, Emma. You are always welcome here, and we will respect and trust your judgment." Simon said, and I grinned back at him. "They stay," He announced louder, for our audience. The children immediately whooped with joy, running over to us. To my amusement, most of them went to Josh, pelting him with questions about city life. Some of the teenagers I'd trained when I was young came over to me, now young adults and older. Soon I was shaking hands, giving hugs, and catching up on old times with my friends. I watched Aidan and Rebecca out of the corner of my eye, delighted that at least some of the wolves were talking to them, becoming exposed to vampires that were the complete opposite of Genevieve's forces. Even Sally was chatting it up with the wolves of Bordeaux.

"So, how bad has Genevieve been around here?" I asked Simon in an undertone, and he grimaced.

"She's been cracking down on us more so now than ever before. We've been considering moving the camp more towards Spain to hide in the mountains there. The range would offer more protection and more security from the spreading urban Bordeaux." Simon said, and I shot him a worried glance.

"Has she killed anyone?" I asked, and Simon nodded grimly.

"Two wolves just last week. Everyone is a bit on edge- but they're glad that you are here now. If anyone can kill Genevieve, you can." Simon encouraged, patting my shoulder. I gave him an uneasy smile, happy for his support but still doubting myself at the same time. He moved on to talk with someone else. For a moment, I just stood there before finding my way to Josh, who was still answering questions from the younger wolves.

"_Emma!" _One of them yelled excitedly, seeing me, and then I was nearly knocked over with kids leaping at me, chattering and bursting with even more questions.

"Hey!" I greeted them all cheerfully, forcing away my worries for the moment. "Have you been torturing poor Josh for the past hour?" I teased. I looked up at Josh to see him looking at me, eyes sparkling with happiness. It made my heart swell almost painfully. The young ones giggled.

"He's been telling us all about the city. Boston makes Bordeaux look like a rat-hole." A child translated for another one speaking rapid Spanish. Werewolves and their families came from all over Europe to settle outside of Bordeaux and they spoke a mix of languages. Some had even come from Asia and Africa.

"Bigger isn't always better," I warned him, thinking of the pollution, the traffic, the crime. In the pristine countryside of France, it was hard to believe that such dirty places existed. The kids brushed off my warning and went to go and see 'real life vampires', leaving Josh and I alone.

"I didn't realize you had so much power here. You gave all of these wolves the power to control themselves. Without it, they could never work together like this. It's amazing." Josh said, taking my hand and beaming at me. I felt a blush creep it's way up my cheeks. My time at Bordeaux had been a learning experience for both parties. I had always felt like I came away with more than the wolf pack did, and Josh's words made me reconsider my previous opinion. "It's also kind of nice, seeing you in power like that." Josh said in a lower voice, whispering it into my ear, and I felt my heart rate spike at his husky tone. Before I could reply, Simon had found us, Aidan, Rebecca and Sally behind him.

"I'll take you to the outskirts of camp so you can rest in peace tonight. I know that jumping this far with this many people must have been taxing for you. I assume that you also need time to prepare for tomorrow." He said, looking at Josh and I with an amused expression, but his eyes were slightly grim as he got to the point. I felt my previous excitement from Josh's tone fade away, along with some of my confidence.

"Thank you for accepting us like this. I know that adapting to change is hard for Bordeaux." I said as Simon stared to walk us through the camp. Large shelters and tents dotted the landscape, with children running and playing between them. Both women and men were cooking, doing laundry, and making useful tools. Some were even trading rare necessities from cities and towns, like cast iron pans and clothing. People waved to us as we went by and children turned to watch us go with wide eyes. Simon chuckled.

"And if I hadn't trusted you all those years ago Bordeaux would never be as functional and safe as it is today. Change is good." He walked us past a few fields full of budding vegetables and grains. Finally, we came to a stop in a wider grass clearing that was usually the buffer zone between the rest of camp and the continuous patrols around it. For now, it was our place to sleep. "I trust you can jump anything you and your friends need." Simon said, grinning a bit. At first, my ability had horrified the residents of Bordeaux. They had struggled to accommodate me as a guest with the few supplies I had. The fact that I could get anything I needed used to be a relief and an embarrassment to them.

"Yep, I think we're all set. Thanks again, Simon." I said, and he gave me a brief peck on the cheek before he turned and walked back into camp, leaving us in peace. "Right, who needs what?" I asked, turning to face my family.

"I don't think I can sleep out here." Sally said in a mock whine, grinning around her. She loved using sarcasm to point out the fact that she had no basic needs besides entertainment.

"Some shelter would be-nice." Rebecca started and finished her sentence a few moments after I'd jumped two little shacks out of nowhere. I knew that she had been expecting to 'sleep in a ditch', without even a tent, and here she was with full accommodations. "Um, thanks." Rebecca said as Aidan went over and peeked his head in curiously.

"Why is there an antelope head in here?" He asked, gesturing to a taxidermy head mounted on the wall; it was ostentatious and weird, I could see it all the way from where I was standing a good three yards away. I shrugged.

"The shack is from Canada. I think yours is the better of the two to be honest. The other is from Russia." I told him, and he chuckled under his breath, pulling Rebecca inside their shack to have a look around. The shack from Russia had a very large head of a bear tacked to the wall, along with a bearskin rug. "Oh, and, for Sally." I said, and seconds later, her own little shanty appeared, a bit of sand spraying here and there.

"Oh, where from?" Sally said, walking right through the side of the wall instead of using the door, her curiosity getting the better of her. I heard her giggle at the decorations inside. It was full of bright colors and things weaved from alpaca hair. At least the shelter would keep her entertained for awhile- it would serve the one purpose Sally really needed.

"Chile," I called back, and turned to face Josh. He was looking at me with a gentle smile on his face, but I could tell that something was bothering him. There was a look in his eyes as he observed me, looked at me, as if this was the last time he'd lay eyes on me. The idea made me want to shiver.

"Can we take a quick walk?" he asked, and I took his hand, letting that be my answer. We walked in silence for awhile, passing out of the boundaries of the camp and to an edge of the forest. The forest itself broke off in quiet a few places, leaving large gaps of rolling prairie land inbetween. Now that we were out of the trees, a gorgeous red sunset could be seen in all it's glory. Red and orange and even pink tinted the clouds and dyed the sky, leaving room for the glowing sun to sit against the horizon. "Emma," Josh said, and I turned away from the spectacular sunset to look at him. "I don't want you to go tomorrow, but I already know that I can't stop you." He started, and we both grimaced slightly. "I want you, Emma. I want you more than I've wanted anything in my entire life, and I think that it would be easier to let you go for awhile if I had better plans for spending my life with you when you got back." He said carefully. I felt love bubble up in my chest for him, for his personality, his words, everything, until my heart swelled almost painfully. "And, well, um, I don't have a ring or anything, but I'd love it if you'd marry me after this." Josh spit out, suddenly very awkward. His eyes shifted, too afraid to look at me directly for any time period more than a few seconds.

"Josh, I don't want to go tomorrow, but you already know that I can't not go. I don't want a ring, either." I said, backtracking through his previous speech, using his words as my own as I placed a hand on his jaw, getting his attention back. "I just want you, Josh. I want you more than anything I've ever wanted, and I love you." I told him. I would have finished in the style I'd been going in, but it would have been redundant and it would have broken the most memorable kiss of my entire life as Josh swooped in and captured my lips with his.


	25. Falling to Pieces

_Jumper_

**With the promise of Josh's love as well as Genevieve's wrath hanging over her head, Emma goes to her lair in Paris, intent on fulfilling her mission.**

_Falling to Pieces_

Josh and I lay side by side in the shack's bed. It was very early morning, and Josh was dozing. We'd stayed up all night to enjoy each other's company; I hadn't been able to sleep and Josh was too worried to doze off. His comfortable heat and weight against me had calmed me somewhat, but my mind had still been running wild long into the night. I'd had a lot to think about; Josh, our marriage, breaking the news to his family, breaking the news to Aidan, Rebecca and Sally, my fight with Genevieve… I had a lot on my plate. Above it all, though, I had a strong unstoppable feeling inside me that I had to end this. If I let Genevieve continue, she'd kill innocent people, people who were my friends and family. I was nervous (I'd never killed anyone in my life), but I knew that this had to be done. Figuring that there was no good time like the present, I rolled over and pushed against Josh's chest, waking him up slowly. The sooner I went, the sooner I could get this over with. Considering my enemy never slept or rested, there wasn't an ideal time for me to launch my attack. "Josh, wake up. It's time," I whispered, Josh snapping awake as soon as I said his name. He looked down at me, eyes half sleepy and half anxious.

"Ok," he said after taking a deep breath. "Ok, right." He got up and quickly got dressed as I did the same. We were silent as we both got ready and then went outside. Sally was nowhere in sight, but Aidan and Rebecca were already waiting, having heard us get up.

"Sally went to go get Simon. We figured you'd want to do this quickly." Rebecca said, her voice slightly hoarse as Josh and I walked up to them. I gave her a weak smile in appreciation. I was very glad that I was going to leave without a large audience; saying goodbye to Rebecca, Aidan, Josh and Simon was going to be bad enough.

"You'll need this," Aidan said, extending a heavy wooden stake my way. It was very solid and looked to be _very _sharp. It was unlike any other stake I'd seen before, and I realized that Aidan wanted the job to be as easy as possible for me. I slowly took it, feeling the rough grain of the wood underneath my fingertips.

"Thank you," I said softly, unwilling to meet his eyes. I wished briefly that I could take him with me. Aidan always seemed so strong, so impenetrable, whereas I was just an average person. Sure, I could teleport myself and objects all across the globe, but I wasn't strong and I certainly wasn't a killer. Moments later, I brushed the idea off. Aidan may have been strong, but he wasn't nearly as fast as I was and when it came down to a fight with Genevieve, speed was better than strength. All I had to do was get close enough- and that was a huge problem for Aidan. Before anyone could say anything else, Simon and Sally suddenly appeared among the tents, walking over to us (or in Sally's case, floating). Sally looked completely at ease as they came to a stop, not at all terrified like I was. Her posture, her face, they all screamed cool assurance. With that in mind, I started to lock myself down. I could do this. _I could do this. _There was no other option.

"Are you ready to get this over with?" Sally asked, her voice suddenly giving away her true emotions. It was quiet, meek, almost nonexistent. I swallowed, giving her a sure nod. Simon stepped forward then, and gave me a quick but sure embrace.

"The pack will be here for you when you return." Simon said strongly, giving me a solemn but forceful look as he let me go. He didn't wish good luck upon me, which was something I appreciated. Even thinking about that phrase made me even more nervous.

"We've still got a lot of catching up to do, don't we?" I realized, and he gave me an amused nod. Within seconds, Rebecca swooped me up, holding on tight, ending my exchange with Simon.

"You gave me everything, Emma," she whispered, voice struggling to remain steady. "You gave me the power to live a life free of addiction and I can never, _ever _repay you for that, but I can try; so you better come back so that I can start, ok?" She rambled, and, to my surprise, I didn't even start to cry at her kind words. I loved Rebecca, she was like my sister, one of my truest, closest friends. I loved her enough to know that even if I _didn't _come back she would be fine.

"You can't get rid of me that easily," I told her, and she smiled a watery smile, releasing me. Aidan gave me a quick but very reassuring hug next , as if he was trying to pour his strength into me. Once he'd let me go, Josh hugged me close.

"Come back to me, alright?" He begged quietly in my ear.

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything else." I whispered into his neck, and his grip tightened. After a moment, I forced myself to pull away, offering him a smile that came out like a grimace. Before I could do something I'd later regret, I turned to Sally. "Ready?" I asked her, and she gave me a tight nod. My heart screamed at me to look at Josh just one more time, just to see his face, but my head took over the decision making and I jumped away. I tried to reason with myself that I already knew what he looked like, I had stroked his face millions of times, but I didn't care. I could never get tired of looking at his face. I'd never memorize what it looked like, and I never wanted to.

The absinthe gallery I'd seen so long ago reappeared around me and my thoughts on Josh vanished as I went on high alert, groping the stake in my jacket through the fabric. Sally was next to me, looking around, and neither of us made a sound as we listened…and waited. The gallery was empty of absinthe now, and was slightly eerie in the half-light system that was still in place. I waited for five agonizing minutes, trying to keep calm, and in those five minutes no one came. Option one was scratched off, and I knew that I now had gone down to my second option- going to the circular room where I'd first met Genevieve. I swallowed, not wanting to go, considering that she would most likely be there, but I had no choice. Glancing over at Sally, I could see similar anxiety on her face. Taking a deep breath, I gave her a nod and then jumped.

**oOoOoOo**

"Don't," Rebecca told me quietly, not looking up from where she was staring at the floor. I'd just been about to go outside to try to talk to Josh, to try to offer him any comfort I could- I had to. I could see and hear him pacing around the two shacks we'd slept in, desperately trying to not go insane. "It won't help him, Aidan. I know that you're his best friend, but you can't help. None of us can. He's got more at stake than he can handle."

"What do you mean?" I asked her, confused. It was obvious that he had more at stake than Rebecca or I (we weren't Emma's lover), but the way she had said 'he's got more at stake' sounded…off. Rebecca closed her eyes, her fangs starting to poke at her bottom lip as she tried to stay calm.

"I heard them. Yesterday. I didn't mean to listen in, but I heard what they were talking about when they went to the edge of camp to talk." Rebecca spit out, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes, the strain of the information she held starting to crack her perfect façade. I didn't say anything, trying to think clearly through the dread in my stomach that had settled there since Emma went off to Paris. "They're engaged, Aidan." Rebecca whispered, fangs present now.

I stayed perfectly still, even more worry than I thought possible crashing onto my head. They were _engaged. _While it was wonderful, and I was extremely happy for the both of them, the horrible, negative cloud in the back of my mind whispered that Emma wouldn't come back and that Josh would be alone. After what happened with Julia all those years ago and after what could happen to him now, Josh would never date again. He'd never open up again. If Emma died, it would kill him. It nearly did when she disappeared, and the last thing I wanted to see was what would happen to Josh if she was actually dead and gone, with no chance of ever returning. The idea of that happening was suddenly all the more terrifying.

"I'm sorry, Aidan. I shouldn't have told you- it's just," Rebecca struggled to find the words, looking guilty and hurt all at the same time as she took in the look on my face.

"No, don't apologize. I'm glad you told me," I responded instantly, closing my eyes to try to not panic. My mind fruitlessly tired yet again to find a solution to the problem that was Genevieve that didn't involve Emma, but nothing turned up. This was it- the end of the line. This was what had to be done- but why did it have to hurt so much?

I walked silently over to Rebecca, sat down on the bed with her, and simply hugged her close, selfishly glad that she was safe in my arms and not out trying to kill a murderous vampire.

**oOoOoOo**

I landed in the perfectly circular room that I remembered, the small table for 'meals' included, but something was wrong. Horribly wrong. Objects weren't just _objects _anymore. They had dimensions I'd never seen, matter that shouldn't exist. I could see colors that were darker than black and lighter than white. I could hear the colors, taste them. I could see heat and cold, see vibrations in the air. There were even things that I could see and hear and taste and feel that I couldn't describe. I briefly, idly wondered if I'd been drugged, if this was what the world looked like to those on illicit drugs, when I heard laughter. It was evil laughter; laughter that I could feel in my bones and see in the air. It was coming from what had to be Genevieve.

She was standing by the door, a malicious look on her face as she glared at me with triumph and hate. She smirked at my confusion, and the dimensions that look created almost made me sick. The world was moving and yet still, spinning and falling and holding motionless all at once. I stumbled a bit, trying to regain my balance, and she laughed harder. Sally was saying something, she was speaking, but I only saw it in a blossom of color. _Focus! _I screamed at myself, trying to ignore how I felt like my body was being tugged at from all directions. I practiced deep breathing, like I did to avoid an accidental jump, and sound filtered back in, the dimensions started to come together a bit more. "Emma, what's wrong?!" Sally asked, sounding like she was on the edge of panic.

I went to reply but found that my ability to speak had suddenly vanished. I raised a hand to gesture, but got transfixed by the movement, turning my arm from side to side. The dimensions, color, whirled around my skin, releasing into the air in fantastic patterns. My arm prickled and jerked at the socket, making me grimace, wiggling my fingers and watching in a type of confused horror as blended through spectrums of light. Genevieve stopped laughing, and I could feel her hate-filled glare on my face. "What is it about you that makes you so impossible to control, to kill?" Genevieve ground out, staring at me with grudging admiration mixed with the hate. _Kill? _My mind repeated unhelpfully. It managed to realize that Genevieve was threatening me, and I absentmindedly reached for my stake. I had a mission, after all- I was here to kill her. Once she was dead I could get the hell out of there.

To my horror, my hand passed right through my jacket. I couldn't feel those fingers anymore, I couldn't feel the texture of the jacket, nothing. The gasp that came out of me was horrified, but Genevieve started laughing again, apparently pleased with my predicament. What had she done to make me so out of control? "Are you having problems, Emma?" Genevieve asked mockingly, treating me to a venomous smile as I tried again, just managing to pinch the edge of my jacket.

"Shut up," Sally snarled at her, blocking the space between me and the murderous vampire, as if that would help. I appreciated the effort, but the tingling in my body was getting stronger, the tugging more insistent. Gritting my teeth, I reached into my jacket and focused all of my strength on gripping the stake in my fist. I raised that arm, fully prepared now to kill her, when with a sick snapping noise, my arm _jumped off of my body._

The pain that roared through my nerves was incredible, and I shrieked out loud, trying to grip at the spot where my arm used to be. My fingers wavered through that space and disappeared. My arm on the other side of the room was frozen in its raised position. No blood leaked from my amputated limb, but the _pain, _the pain was right up there with neodymium magnets. I knew that Sally was trying to say something again, but all I saw was the blossoms of color, even from Genevieve. Her face was a mix of shock and excitement- she was enjoying this.

The longer my arm was off my body, the more the pain increased, until my legs were shaking to hold me up. An image of Josh flashed through my mind, and I felt my determination build. I had promised him, and he had made a promise to me. We had a long life ahead of us- I had to end this now! With that thought in mind, I urged my detached arm to jump again, on its own, and into Genevieve. It was morbid to think about, but there was no way I could make it over there to fetch the stake, and in this state Genevieve could kill me herself at any second. Sally wouldn't be fast enough to kill her- it had to be me. Shakily trying to breathe, I pushed energy at my arm. To my delight, it jumped across the room and just like that, the stake slid into Genevieve's heart.

With a ghastly scream, she disintegrated into ash. Mission complete, I let my arm hang eerily in the air; I let my knees fold as more pain crashed over me until I was gasping, near writhing. With another snap noise, my thigh disappeared. I screamed in pain again, curling in on my twitching and prickling body. I could still sense Sally, but there was no way I could talk to her now. All I could do was try to hold myself together.

When I felt Sally vanish, I knew that she'd gone back to Bordeaux. Hoping that she would get everyone to Paris in time to help me, I gritted my teeth and tried to hang on.


	26. Free Again

_Jumper_

**Josh, Aidan, Rebecca and the pack of Bordeaux race to Paris to save Emma. **

_Free Again_

Standing in a circle, Aidan, Simon and I stood impatiently. Emma and Sally really hadn't been gone long, maybe only ten minutes, but the tension among us was increasing exponentially. Every second we didn't know what was going on was a second that Emma could be dying or in trouble. Simon, for the most part, was quiet. As the leader of the Bordeaux pack, he had to maintain some sort of face, that was true, but I could see how difficult it was for him. He had obviously known Emma very well and had probably seen her grow up among his pack. I had heard the story from Josh about how _young _Emma had been in getting her experience with werewolves, and if that was any indication, I could see how Simon could be like a father to Emma. Simon ruffled his hair and sighed, looking at the ground.

Next to him, sitting on the ground a few feet back, was Josh. He'd been pacing viciously for the first five minutes that Emma had disappeared, and his worry had apparently taken all the life out of him- now he was sitting there like a man defeated, weakly drawing patterns in the dirt with his fingertip. A few of Emma's wolf friends who had taken a liking to Josh were clustered around him, offering silent support. Josh was so pale, almost as pale as a vampire as he waited, trying not to drive himself insane with worry. I noticed that he was counting breaths- probably a relaxation technique that Emma herself had taught him. I wondered if it was helping him at all or if the memories of learning the method from the very woman he was worried about only made things worse.

Aidan, on my left, was oddly still. He twitched every once and a while, but other than that, he was still. His eyes burned vacantly in front of him, and I knew that he was thinking over the fact that Josh and Emma were engaged. He had been married once, with a child too, and had had many relationships over his 200 or so years of being a vampire. While are relationship was very secure and had probably been the best he'd ever had (I didn't mean to toot my own horn, but compared to his other relationships ours WAS the best one), I knew that he was picturing the same situation happening to the two of us instead of Josh and Emma. It had him agitated, but in his usual 'strong but silent' type, he was trying not to show it. Every few minutes his eyes flicked to me, as if to make sure I was still there.

As for me, I was ready to head out for Paris myself. I didn't care for waiting, not really. I wanted to be there no matter what. I had already accepted danger as a part of my life- and Emma was well worth the possible threat to my life. Just when I was about ready to dart off for Paris on my own, there was a whistle and a smacking noise as Sally appeared out of nowhere, by herself. I took one look at her face and felt a sharp pang of dread in my gut. Josh scrambled up off the ground, his breath coming in quick pants. "What is it what is it what's wrong?" He fired off all at once, his face pained.

"Genevieve is dead, but you have to come, you have to come _now!_" Sally cried, wringing her hands desperately.

"Calm down, Sally, and tell us what's happened," Aidan requested, but his voice was rushed too.

"We went to her place and found her and Emma staked her but something's wrong. She's coming apart!" Sally told us, her eyes as panicked as her voice.

"What?" Josh asked hoarsely, and I heard his blood pressure spike.

"Genevieve did something- Emma's body is jumping apart or something, I don't know-!"

"Let's go," Simon interrupted our panic attacks with a clipped, decisive tone. "Let's _go!" _He repeated when we all just stared at him. "The longer we wait the worse thing will become. Jordan, assemble the team and _let's move!" _ He yelled, and Jordan, who had been sitting next to Josh, leapt to his feet and let out a long, high whistle from inbetween his teeth. Without further ado, wolves came jogging over from across the camp, eyes alert.

"We've got to get to Paris triple time," Jordan ordered the recruits coming over, even going as far as to repeat his order in French and Spanish. The men and women that had gathered instantly started to morph, unashamedly removing their clothing and leaving them in small piles on the ground. "If you have to ride two to a wolf, do it, but only two at a shot. We're not horses, but we're quick." He relayed, and Aidan instantly took my hand, pulling me over to the nearest wolf. We both jumped on, muttering quick apologies.

Simon gave Josh a budge up and then slung onto the wolf behind him. Once we were all up and ready to go, Sally vanished, determined to keep Emma comfortable and to keep Josh in the loop. Without further ado, the wolf Aidan and I were riding on took off with a low sounding snarl. Grasping a firm arm around his waist, I hung on for dear life, my mind tumbling over what Sally had said. Emma was 'coming apart'? What did that mean?

**OoOoOoO**

"Emma? Emma, I'm back. Everyone's coming- they'll be here soon. Are you ok?" Sally's voice almost reached me before she did. I was gasping on the floor, attempting to curl up on myself. I thought that by holding myself together with my arms I could literally keep myself together. Sadly, it hadn't worked. A piece of my ankle jumped away from me with a snapping noise and I let out a strangled noise from around my teeth, curling in tighter, shaking. I could barely feel the parts of my body that had been ripped away from me. The only reason I knew that they were gone was because the nerves around where they belonged burned with a fire I had never felt in my entire life. "Emma? Say something," Sally sounded close to begging when I heard her next.

"Hi," I managed to croak, and I heard her sigh in relief.

"They're coming, ok? Everyone's coming. We'll make it-_shit," _I heard her hiss, getting to her feet. Off in the distance, there was a slight bang than many measured footsteps coming closer. Not running, not panicked, but slow and purposeful. That could only mean one thing- Genevieve's guards. Their leader may have been dead, but they most likely had orders to kill us anyway. I heard a loud smash, several bangs, and then Sally had returned.

"I made a barricade of sorts, I hope it helps. I'll start trying to blow them up now. You stay put, ok? No dying," Sally laughed shakily before she disappeared once more.

For a while, I was in a haze. I was trying desperately to listen to what Sally had told me, but I could feel more and more pieces of myself slipping away no matter how hard I tried to hold myself together. I could feel vibrations in the floor from Sally destroying vampires by blowing them up (a cheerful thought), but it took a while for me to realize that I could feel other vibrations as well, hear growls and the screeching of claws on stone. Snarls echoing from the corridor mixed with wolf howls, and I felt my spirits rise faintly. My saviors had arrived- now I had to stay long enough for them to save me.

Hearing the fight was ghastly. There were screams and groans and nasty squelching noises as vampire and werewolf alike were injured. I could hear shouts in English, French and a mix of other languages as the battle progressed, but my fuzzy mind couldn't pin down a particular voice that I recognized. After what felt like an eternity, there were a few muffled bangs, and then footsteps rushing over. "Emma? _Emma?!" _Josh's voice, even in a pained and frightened state, was beautiful. I hadn't realized that what I wanted most to hear was Josh's voice. No matter how I felt or how badly I was injured, he always made me feel better, feel at peace. "EMMA! Come on, talk to me!" Josh was begging, and I felt a palm on my cheek.

A piece of my ear vanished and I practically screamed, writhing weakly on the floor from the sensation of another part of me disappearing. Eventually, I wouldn't be able to hold the pieces and then I knew, deep inside, that I would die. "What did Genevieve say? Word for word, Sally, what did she say? Did she gloat? Plot? Anything?" Aidan's voice was terrible as he questioned Sally somewhere off to my right. Instead of focusing on what was happening around me, I focused on the feeling of Josh's hand on my cheek, minding a piece of my jaw that was missing. When I had the energy to make my eyelids flutter, I could just see glimpses of his face, just to make sure he was alright.

Josh was pale underneath a layer of grime and blood, but he otherwise looked unharmed. I was sure inside that he was injured, but I was too delirious to note wounds properly anyway. "Wait, what is that?" A voice marred with a French accent asked, and after a moment, footsteps converged on one side of the room.

"Rip it off," I heard Simon declare, and with a painful grinding noise, something was ripped off the wall. All of a sudden, I felt something pinging against me, a signal I hadn't even realized I'd ever felt before until I couldn't feel it. Genevieve, knowing more about me than I ever could, must have noticed that I needed whatever she'd blocked to stay together. It was terrifying to feel the little beads pushing against me, and I whimpered.

"Shh," Josh soothed, voice cracking from the strain on him as he stroked my cheek. Another strip came off and I jerked visibly in shock. With encouragements from Josh, people spread out in the room, ripping down what I realized where the dark strips around the walls. As more of them were disconnected, the more I was aware of my missing body parts, wherever they were. One piece was wet, another burning, and another being prodded. Grasses touched my skin, but only around my knee. With an almighty wrench, the last strip was torn down.

In an instant, I could suddenly account for everything, and my first instinct was to jump completely back together. With a sick snapping noise, all of my missing pieces came flying back, fitting back into place. The pain was unbearable, and I got a brief glimpse of Josh's horrified face before my eyes rolled back into my head and I fainted.


	27. Starlight

_Jumper_

**With Genevieve defeated, there is only one thing left to do…**

_Starlight_

When I became aware of my body once again, I nearly wept with relief. I could still feel the little beads pinging against me that I'd felt before, but the sensation was muted, and more comforting than anything else. It also made me aware that my body was still whole. It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch, but all my parts were where they were supposed to be. Through my exhaustion and soreness, I could hear things. People were talking quietly, walking around. There were a few people weeping, but the sound was quiet. There were a great many more people that sounded like they were in pain, but the sounds quickly passed- werewolves were healing at their normal rate of 'incredibly fast'.

Then, I remembered.

Genevieve's face, laughing at me, mocking me. My arm jumping _off of my body _to stake her. Sally ordering me not to die. The sounds of a fight. Josh's beautiful voice, his hand on my cheek. We won. _We won! _That was the only way to explain what I was hearing. A grateful, happy feeling washed over me, swept me up, and I opened my eyes. Josh was half slumped over against the wall next to me, dozing fitfully. He looked awful, and I instantly noted a bandage wrapped around his arm- he'd been slashed by something. We were still in Genevieve's circular room with the view of Paris' skyline. It had been converted into a hospital of sorts- the injured were lying on one side, getting tended to with supplies brought up from the basement. On the other side, mourners were sitting in vigils by the dead. I was relieved to see that the number of dead was very small, but it still pinched my heart to see young wolves made up the majority of those who had died in a sacrifice for _my _life.

Aidan, Sally, and Rebecca were nowhere to be found, but considering they weren't among the wounded or dead (except for Sally), I relaxed. We were safe- we were _finally _safe. I was free to marry Josh and spend the rest of my life in happiness. With that idea in mind, I attempted to sit up. It hurt quite a bit, but I managed to prop myself up against the wall, panting through my teeth. How the hell I had survived nearly being blasted to bits, I had no idea. Josh stirred, head rolling on his shoulders, before snapping upright, expression wide and vulnerable. I could tell that he'd been doing that ever since he took up watch next to me- his conscience and worry wouldn't let him sleep. When his gaze found me, he lurched in surprise before grabbing me and pulling me as close to him as humanly possible, burying his face into my hair. I melted into him, content to feel the lines of his body against mine, supporting me, loving me. "I was so worried," Josh was whispering, almost to himself, in my hair. I just pushed myself closer, unable to do anything more than feel him.

When Josh pulled away, holding me at arm's length, I smiled faintly. "I'm fine," I told him before he could ask, and he frowned, brushing hair from my forehead. I didn't sound my best, but I'd definitely sounded much worse. "Are you ok?" I asked him, emphasizing the 'you', and Josh's frown melted off to a troubled expression. He gave a tiny, helpless sort of shrug.

"If I'm not, there's nothing I can do about it. I'll be better once we get out of here," he told me, and I glanced around the room again, stomach queasy when I looked closer at those who were among the dead.

"Where are Rebecca and Aidan? And Sally?" I questioned, and Josh's face brightened.

"They're down in Genevieve's research labs, collecting all of her databases on jumpers as well as ghosts, vampires, and werewolves. And whatever else she's got down there. I figured you would want it." Josh told me, his grip on my hand tightening in a reassuring gesture. I frowned, unsure. Did I want to know everything that Genevieve had used against me? Did I really want to know everything that I could do, that my 'condition' could do? "What's wrong?" Josh asked, seeing my torn expression.

"I'm not sure if I want to see it," I shared, and Josh blinked at me.

"Why not? It's an end to all the mystery. If you know everything that Genevieve knew, then you'll be safer," Josh argued, and I suddenly saw the point of his argument. He wanted me to be safe- he didn't care what other things I could do or what Genevieve had collected. All he wanted was my safety, nothing else. A warm feeling blossomed in my heart, and I leaned over to kiss him, once again extremely grateful that, against all odds, everything had turned out well enough that I was still here and that Josh was with me. "Thanks," Josh panted in a laugh when I broke away, and I felt myself smile.

"I think you're right. I'll take home her files on jumpers, but everything else has to go unless the wolves or Sally or Rebecca and Aidan want to venture a look. I don't want to see what information Genevieve garnered through torture and experimentation, thanks. I'd rather her work was destroyed, just like her," I said firmly, eyes tracing the room until I found the pile of ashes a little ways off that used to be the horrible vampire who had hunted me and threatened my happiness and safety as well as my friends'. Josh grimaced, but nodded in understanding of my request.

"Emma! It's good to see you up!" Simon's voice broke into our conversation before the werewolf himself appeared. A long scratch on his arm was healing to a light, shiny pink, but other than that, he looked perfectly well. I beamed up at him, glad to see his face again. He patted my arm happily before heading over to some of his other healing wolves. As the alpha, it was his job to keep stock of the whole pack- and Simon was never one to shirk his duties.

"We should find Aidan, Rebecca, and Sally," I told Josh, and he hesitated, eyes flashing over me as he tried to determine just how 'fine' I was. "Josh," I complained, starting to push myself up, and he sighed, giving me a hand up. Every inch of my body felt sore, like I'd ran into a magnet again, but besides slightly shaky knees, I was fine. I'd dealt with worse pain, and the longer I stayed dormant, the more sore my muscles would become. He kissed the side of my head, an arm slipping around my waist to help me along. I limped with Josh's help silently past the short but still horrible line of the dead, biting my tongue to keep from crying. Once out of the circular room, Josh took me to an elevator and we descended down to her lab. It was odd going the normal way, that is, walking and taking elevators instead of jumping. I had never actually seen much of the interior of Genevieve's compound. I had only gone this way once, when Genevieve had caught me and forcibly moved me down into her lab to be studied. That thought made me shiver, and Josh tightened his grip until the doors dinged open.

"Hey, guys!" Josh yelled into the sterile white lab as we made our way inside. In an instant, Sally appeared in front of us. When she registered my presence, her face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"_Emma!" _ She squealed, dancing on the spot and twirling in a circle, burning off her happy energy. Footsteps quickly came over, and then Rebecca appeared, Aidan directly behind. My longtime friend scooped me out of Josh's hold and held me close. I knew that by the way Rebecca's back was shaking that she would be crying if she was still human, and so I let her have her moment, laughing weakly as she picked me up off the ground. When she set me back down, her eyes were composed, if not a little mad.

"You need to stop this whole getting into life-threatening danger nonsense, do you hear me? I can't take anymore." She ordered as she smiled dazzlingly at me, happy. I grinned back at her.

"No problem. I'm seriously done," I told her, smiling at Aidan as he came over to hug me too. When he released me, looking relieved and finally relaxed for once, Josh's secure arm brought me close to his side once more, noting how my knees still shook.

"No, you can't be! Not yet! There's still one more thing you have to do," Sally interrupted, eyes widening with fake acting drama. I cocked an eyebrow at her and she grinned.

"You still have to marry Josh," She laughed, and Josh sent her a mock glare, trying not to laugh, as the rest of us burst into laughter.

Once we got over ourselves, Aidan, Rebecca and Sally showed us how they took her information on ghosts, vampires, and werewolves before destroying all of her equipment. They explained how they wanted her information to be public to everyone, so that anyone who was recently afflicted with a more supernatural change to their life could find the information they needed to become safe in a world full of humans. The file on jumpers was given to me, but I didn't read it. I kept that file, but only as a reminder that even though I was marrying Josh and my life was returning to some idea of normalcy, I was still partially dangerous- I always would be.

I married Josh at an average courthouse in Boston with Aidan, Rebecca, Sally, Josh's family, and Simon as guests. Since then, Josh and I had settled into a nice, easy routine. He still worked at the hospital, and I started as a receptionist there too. When we weren't pretending to be human, we were ourselves.

If that meant that I jumped us to the most beautiful and remote places on Earth to talk with nothing but starlight to keep us company, then that was exactly who we were.

* * *

**There you have it! The end to _Jumper. _I'm horribly sorry that it took so long, that there was that long hiatus, and that, in my opinion, the writing was horrible from the start, but once I start something I have to finish it.**

**Thanks to all who reviewed and followed this story- this was all for you, after all.**

**bitchinblackframedglasses**


End file.
